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ACCOUNTANT John Chilton is going full throttle to keep his newest client’s finances in order.

John, a lifelong speedway fan, works for Middlesbrough-based chartered accountants Chipchase Manners, which has just been appointed by the Redcar Bears.

And he is sure to be fast out of the gate because he is already accountant for several past and present Bears stars, including former world champion Gary Havelock and his father, Bears’ manager Brian Havelock.

“It’s the ultimate labour of love for me,” says John, who has supported the Bears for more than 30 years and was once part of a six-strong fans’ consortium that owned the speedway team when it was known as the Middlesbrough Bears and was based at Cleveland Park.

Today, the Redcar Bears are one of the best-supported teams in British speedway’s Premier League, regularly attracting crowds of over 1,000 to the South Tees Motorsports Park, on the outskirts of Middlesbrough. (more…)

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A RECRUITMENT company has seen the green shoots of economic recovery flourish into a quick succession of contract wins worth millions of pounds and filling hundreds of jobs over the next few years.Jo Hand Recruitment, based in Middlesbrough and Darlington, has secured six major supply contracts in less than 2 months and has taken on three extra staff to cope with its growing workload. 

Two of the contracts are with Darlington and Stockton borough councils and the others with large private sector companies also in the Tees Valley area. The contracts will run for between two and six years and involve hundreds of new jobs in the local area, both temporary and permanent.

The contracts are potentially worth about £10m in sales to the recruitment company over the full period of the contracts.

“It is the surest sign yet that employers can see past the economic downturn; and, while some are reluctant to commit to permanent new staff, they are making the necessary preparations to take advantage of improved trading conditions,” said the recruitment company’s founder, Jo Hand.

Jo Hand Recruitment, which opened it’s second branch in Darlington earlier this year, specialises in recruiting temporary and permanent office staff, such as Administration, Customer Services, Accounts, PAs / Secretarial and Office Managers.  They also specialise in providing cleaning and catering staff to many of the schools in the Tees Valley area. (more…)

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Studio Print Ltd, a very successful long established printing company, has trebled in size overnight by taking over the rest of the 20,500sq ft factory on Kirkleatham Business Park, near Redcar, east Cleveland.

Two thirds of the factory in Tralee Close, was left empty in May after Theakston Print went into liquidation - but the building’s chequered history also includes the collapse of Jordison Print in 2005 and again in 2006 after a failed attempt by a former employee to revive the 160-year-old company. (more…)

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A NORTH-EAST estate agent is celebrating a unique deal - a three-way house swap with a total value of nearly £500,000.Clear Choice, in Guisborough, was the linchpin in the deal which saw three families looking to move home within the Skelton area of east Cleveland agree to swap with each other.

The unusual arrangement was triggered by the property matching and swapping website property-matchmaker.com

But the “business end” of the sale was handled by Clear Choice, working in conjunction with neighbouring estate agents Cook & Forth, in Guisborough, and Parker Stag, in Redcar - and was completed within eight hours. (more…)

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PRESTIGE GROUP, a leading developer of care homes for the elderly, has announced an appointment to its board of directors.

The Stockton-based company, which has started work on a 75-bed care home at Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, has appointed chartered banker Andy Wilson as finance director.

The £7.5m development, close to Ingleby Barwick’s Tesco supermarket, will be the Prestige Group’s eleventh care facility. It will include a doctors’ surgery and a children’s day nursery and will create between 50 and 60 jobs during construction and longer-term caring roles.

The company has also completed land purchase deals for two other care homes, in Nuthall, near Nottingham, and in Hull. (more…)

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A NORTH-EAST vehicle leasing business is targeting expansion after weathering the storm of the recession.

Advanced Vehicle Leasing (AVL), based at Urlay Nook, between Stockton and Darlington, supplies contract hire, lease cars and light commercial vehicles to businesses and private individuals across the UK.

In the first quarter of 2009 it has increased its market share by approximately 10% - even though the vehicle leasing market is estimated to be about 50% smaller in the wake of the economic downturn.

“The effects of the recession were quite scary for a time, although it would appear thankfully brief, but it’s at times like that when you discover just how much grip your business has on the road,” says founder and managing director Stuart Beagrie.

“The market has shifted significantly over the past 18 months. Traditionally our trade was pretty much split 50-50 between commercial vehicles and cars, the latter now accounts for nearly 70% of our business.” (more…)

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IN a recent press release, Henry Williams Limited, of Darlington, made certain statements concerning a contract to supply roadside equipment cabinets to the Highways Agency, which it now accepts it was not entitled to make.

As part of the four-year contract, Henry Williams has been commissioned to manufacture and supply aluminium Type 600 cabinets and associated equipment, as and when required by the Highways Agency.

Henry Williams now accepts that, contrary to the information given in the press release, they are not the sole suppliers on the contract, but are one of two suppliers sharing the contract value.

The article quoted information concerning the Highways Agency’s successful Active Traffic Management scheme, initially introduced on the M42 in the West Midlands, where roadside equipment helps to regulate use of the hard shoulder by vehicles during busy periods to improve traffic flow.

While the intention was to illustrate the potential role of the cabinets, Henry Williams did not make it clear that its Type 600 model was not a key element but one item of a range of equipment used for the M42 ATM scheme, and accordingly, accepts that the M42 project should not have been mentioned in relation to the Henry Williams/Highways Agency contract.

In a quote within the article, Henry Williams stated: “In a relatively short space of time we have become a key supplier of Highways Agency related products.” While this statement was intended to express the importance of the contract to Henry Williams and its staff, the company recognises that it is only one of many suppliers to the Highways Agency and regrets giving any impression that it is formally recognised by the Highways Agency as a ‘key’ supplier.

The Henry Williams spokesperson further commented that the award of the contract, “desirable by any company, carries with it a ringing endorsement of our products”. Similarly, the company accepts that no such endorsement has been given by the Highways Agency.

Henry Williams regrets any offence or embarrassment caused by the press release, which was issued with the best intention as a celebration of the company gaining a much-valued contract with the Highways Agency, a contract which it now looks forward to fulfilling to the very best of its abilities.

For further information contact Director Alan Puddick on 01325 462722

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