Sustainable cleaning business Eco Steam is targeting growth and job creation after receiving a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund.
The firm, which is based in Newcastle, provides cleaning and sanitation services to domestic and commercial clients using environmentally friendly cleaning products that don’t contain bleach, ammonia or harmful waste chemicals.
The company was founded after married couple Rachael and Temur Kuronbeov noticed that Temur’s allergies flared up due to the dust in carpets and soft furnishings in the UK. They identified a gap in the North East market for a greener cleaning business and Eco Steam now has a client base that includes The Centre For Life and Northumbrian Water.
The couple have received a £50,000 Small Loan Fund investment through regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, which they will use to enhance the firm’s business development and marketing activity.
A subsidiary of North East training group Learning Curve has invested in a new academy in Newcastle to train young people seeking careers in the Armed Forces and uniformed services.
MPCT, which was acquired by County Durham’s Learning Curve Group last year, is launching the new facility at the Army Reserve Centre in Walker with open sessions on Thursday. Places on the course – which are free, thanks to Government funding – are designed to give young people the experience of learning in a real-life military environment. The courses aim to pass on useful military skills, knowledge and fitness which will prepare young people for military applications.
Brian Edwards, executive director of military academies at Learning Curve Group, said: “I am delighted to be opening a brand new MPCT academy in Newcastle to support young people across the region gain the skills and experience they need to move into a successful career in the Armed Forces and uniformed services.
The owner and operator of Port of Middlesbrough acquired dry bulk business Cobra Middlesbrough as part of its strategic investment and expansion plans.
AV Dawson’s deal will see Port of Middlesbrough’s footprint grow by eight acres, which it says will unlock further opportunities on what was previously a 100-acre site. Cobra operates a dry bulk handling terminal with processing and packing facilities, with its main area of focus on the salt market, which sees it distribute thousands of tonnes of salt every year.
Much of the salt stored at the facility has been mined locally and while some is used in animal feeds, the majority is distributed to councils across the country for gritting roads during the winter.
Cobra also provides a range of services for the farming industry. The business receives, screens and bags polyhalite – which, like salt, is mined. This is then used as a fertiliser in the agriculture sector in the UK and overseas.
The site has rail infrastructure and direct access to the East Coast Mainline, giving additional rail capacity to the port for existing and new customers.
North East software firm Mandata snapped up an Irish business as part of plans for growth in the UK and Europe.
Quorum Park based Mandata’s technology allows carrier and haulage businesses to manage workflows and data more effectively, with products including traffic planning and management, tracking, telematics, and invoicing. The firm, which has around 120 people across offices on Tyneside and around the UK, has around 2,000 customers which it supports with compliance, improving productivity, delivering efficiency savings and reducing carbon emissions.
The company was acquired by Tenzing, a London-based equity group specialising in tech companies, last October, providing an exit for previous investor LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank. Now Tenzing has announced that Mandata, which turned over £8.8m in most recent accounts for 2020/2021, has acquired Wexford based Eureka Information Systems Ltd (Eureka).
Founded 10 years ago by Eddie Doyle and Damien Power, Eureka is one of Ireland’s fastest-growing suppliers of software to the transport and logistics industry.
The company has over 200 customers who rely on Eureka’s integrated systems to run every aspect of their transport operations, saving their businesses time and money and increasing productivity.
