County Durham Development Company Limited (CDDC Ltd.) coordinates all
local assistance to potential investors in this county in northeast England,
and provides assistance to existing companies in the county as well, which
contributes to a strong local network of contacts and practical knowledge to
address a wide range of business issues.
Recent developments in the area include the creation of
NETPark in cooperation with Sedgefield Borough Council (the part of the
County represented in Parliament by Prime Minister Tony Blair). There
have also been collaborative efforts in fields such as innovative technology
transfer for commercialization of new medical technologies.
Although executives often visit the area as tourists, such
as to see the historic city of Durham or the scenic rolling countryside of
northern England, they may not have noticed the extensive industrial base
and heritage of this region. The area has attracted a high concentration
of prominent American companies and leading firms from Japan, Korea,
and elsewhere in Europe, notably Germany and northern Europe. In
addition to manufacturing, the area is also home to some large financial
services operations, shared services centers, and customer contact centers
(call centers).
The area suffered high unemployment for many years
while it went through a remarkably proactive and successful transition in the entire region from traditional
heavy industries (steel, shipbuilding, railcars, coal mining, chemicals,
etc.) to the more diversified modern industrial base found there today.
This heritage of recent hardship and collaboration contributes to a very
pro-business environment throughout the area, including excellent labor
relations and very responsive local authorities.
Local representatives remain highly motivated to support
business development in the area with innovative services and teamwork among
the many local organizations which play distinct roles in such support, such
as for training programs, recruitment assistance, construction, finance,
etc. Teamwork to support projects is very good.
Investors in the area have also enjoyed high incentives
and low costs, and generally have given high praise for the skills and work ethic
of people in this area. Close collaboration with leading academic
resources in the area has also proven valuable, such as at Durham University (known as a leading research center in the UK, with many business
linkages) as well as technical colleges and nearby universities which collaborate
to create special worker training
programs throughout the region.
|
Stewart Watkins
Executive Director
County Durham
Development Company Limited
The Rivergreen
Centre
Aykley Heads
Durham, England DH1 5TS
TEL (+011)
44 191 383 2000
in UK : 0191 383 2000
FAX (+011) 44 191
386 2974
e-mail:
enquiries@wherebusinessgrows.com
Alternate
contacts:
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|
Professional
service providers reported to be very familiar with direct investment
considerations in this area from previous work on major investment projects
or among leading investors there:
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Newcastle upon Tyne - local office
Business Location International, Brussels -
independent European location consulting
Buck Consultants International
- independent European location consulting
Donaldsons (Leeds)
and Jacobs Consulting (engineering) - Spennymoor redevelopment
BT eLocations -
selective office parks, call centers in this area and elsewhere
English
Partnerships - available industrial sites and facilities here and elsewhere
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| Relationship Disclosure
There is no agreed working relationship nor proposal at this time between
the County Durham Development Company and GDI Solutions.
Bruce Donnelly
was the US representative of the five county region of northern England,
including County Durham, for five years in a position funded by CDDC.
He has therefore
visited the area repeatedly to become familiar with the area, including
visits with potential and existing investors, but has not visited again recently.
There is also no relationship at this time with the regional
agency for which he worked at the time, formerly known as NDC, and now as
One NorthEast. There is also no relationship with the national
Invest-UK representatives at this time, beyond routine networking contacts
and general awareness of their work and capabilities. |
Relationship leader at GDI Solutions for potential
investors
:
Bruce Donnelly
Please advise regarding any necessary corrections to this
Area Profile.
The relationship leader is responsible for maintaining
sufficiently frequent contact and knowledge about the participating area.
That is
not only to keep a published GUIDE Area Profile such as this example useful, but also to serve as an initial point
of contact for any investors who may choose not to contact the local area
representatives yet about their interests, such as at a very exploratory or
confidential stage of project planning or information gathering, or for
subsequent feedback.
|
| Investment Incentives Available in the Area
Contact directly for details. There are various
sources, but the main incentives are generally from the UK government. The usual lead time for negotiation and approvals by the key
sources of incentives is roughly 3-4 months, with some variances to "fast
track" small projects or provide special handling of very large projects.
Incentives are negotiated within constraints imposed by
the European Union and UK government, and expert professional assistance
with such negotiations is readily available. CDDC can introduce
independent consultants with such experience, and can provide guidance about
how all potentially applicable programs work, because CDDC is generally not
the source of such incentives. Instead, CDDC can work with the
investor as well as the sources of incentives to try to help reach an
agreement which is satisfactory to both sides, which helps the business move
forward quickly.
Future links here may help explain available programs, whether
unique to the area or as part of regional, national, or European programs,
but the focus is to keep it simple and explain how they may apply in
practice as one of many factors in investment decisions. As a general
rule, investors are well-advised to consider incentives in any area at the
final "short-list" stage of their selection process, rather than as a major
factor for selection during the early identification and screening of
location alternatives.
|
Local
contacts which may interest some potential investors:
Durham University
- leading business school and research park
Confederation of
British Industry - local chapter
Durham Chamber of
Commerce
Business Link
County Durham
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