top of page
Business networks in County Durham

Business Park Communities & Networks

Business park communities and networks in County Durham.

Business Durham has helped create several thriving business park communities, enabling like-minded businesses to network, share knowledge and speak with a united voice.

 

These communities are led by businesses in their locations and they hold regular events and networking sessions.

Aycliffe Business Park Community

The private sector-led Aycliffe Business Park Community represents the largest industrial estate in the North East and is very active, holding regular networking events and business-led best practice training sessions and an annual awards ceremony.

Some of the park’s biggest employers include high-profile businesses such as Gestamp Tallent, Hitachi Rail Europe, 3M, INEOS Group, Husqvarna and PWS.

While engineering and manufacturing remain at the core of Aycliffe Business Park, a number of new developments in recent years have brought dozens more SMEs from the services and leisure sectors to the park, creating a vibrant, busy employment hub and a wide variety of industries.

Located just off the A1(M), Aycliffe Business Park is located at the heart of the North East with key road, rail, air and sea links on its doorstep.

Drum Business Park Group

Drum Business Park Group meets on a regular basis to discuss issues facing businesses on the estate and to work together to find solutions.

 

With a multitude of external risks and pressures facing businesses, it’s essential to make the most of opportunities and be adaptable and versatile.  This is exactly the aim of the Drum Business Park Group.

Joining the group is your chance to establish relationships with others based on the Drum Industrial Estate.

 

Together we develop opportunities for businesses located on the park through networking and sharing information, inter-trading,  addressing common concerns and issues, as well as accessing support, expertise and specialists from the Business Durham team.

Bishop Auckland and Shildon Business Community

Bishop Auckland and Shildon Business Community is a dynamic network comprising various companies situated within the Bishop Auckland and Shildon area.

Formed relatively recently, this community has swiftly become a hub of collaborative endeavors and shared goals among its diverse members. Central to its ethos are the regular networking events, which serve as invaluable platforms for fostering connections, exchanging ideas, and delving into pertinent business matters through engaging discussions led by industry experts.

Through its multifaceted approach, the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Business Community stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and collective action in driving sustainable growth and prosperity within the local business landscape.

East Durham Business Network

A new business group to drive forward growth in the area has been launched. East Durham Business Network replaces the Peterlee and Seaham business park groups and will look to engage with employers in a far wider geographical area. It comes after the success of the original Peterlee and Seaham Business Park Groups, which were founded in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and the launch of the area’s flagship magazine, East Durham Business in the summer of 2019.

Fast forward another five years and East Durham Business Network was born, following the successful launch of the East Durham Business Magazine, which replaced the previous PBP & SBP newsletters

Aycliffe Business Park Community

Represents the largest industrial estate in the North East and is very active, holding regular networking events and business-led best practice training sessions and an annual awards ceremony.

BNI Durham & Teesside

BNI Durham & Teesside is a global business networking and referral organisation. It operates several ‘chapter’ groups across County Durham.

Bishop Auckland and Shildon Business Community

Bishop Auckland and Shildon Business Community is made up of companies located in the Bishop Auckland and Shildon area. Holding regular networking events with business-led discussion topics. The group aims to share best practice and generate new business opportunities, as well as highlighting local issues.

Bubbles Ladies Networking Group

Bubbles Ladies Networking Group operates across Bishop Auckland area and is aimed at female entrepreneurs and professionals. It holds regular events throughout the year.

Derwentside Business Network

Derwentside Business Network operates across the North Durham area. It has an active programme of events held throughout the year. Their primary aim is to help your business grow through networking.

Drum Business Park Group

Drum Business Park group meets on a regular basis to discuss issues facing businesses on the estate and to work together to find solutions. Businesses have benefited greatly from working together to create a louder voice on the estate. Business opportunities have included joint marketing campaigns, networking and business referrals.

Durham Business Club

Durham Business Club holds informal breakfast and evening networking events throughout County Durham and the wider North East.

East Durham Business Network

East Durham Business Network replaces the Peterlee and Seaham business park groups and looks to engage with employers in a far wider geographical area.

Network B2B

Network B2B is a UK wide network, with its origins firmly in County Durham. It holds regular meetings across the County of Durham.

Meet the team

If you have any questions for our expert team, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to help.

Andrea McGuigan

Andrea McGuigan

Team Manager - Business Engagement & Account Management

Chris Perry

Chris Perry

Business Engagement Officer

Craig Mayhew

Craig Mayhew

Business Engagement Officer

Guy Bashford

Guy Bashford

Business Engagement And Account Manager

Jo Martin

Jo Martin

Business Engagement Officer

Lisa Mullen

Lisa Mullen

Business Engagement & Account Manager

Lisa Wall

Lisa Wall

Business Engagement & Account Manager

Michelle Mann

Michelle Mann

Business Engagement Officer

Stuart Armstrong

Stuart Armstrong

Business Engagement Officer

Some of  the businesses we've helped

Finance Durham

The benefit of speaking to Maven about the Finance Durham fund is the flexibility of the fund on offer, which means we can invest from a small amount up to several millions via equity or debt.

Michael Vassallo
Maven Capital Partners
Power Roll

Maven helped us in terms of facilities by introductions into Business Durham, and also the funding opportunities here in County Durham, which really did help pull a package of measures together, which made the premises we're in today, Jade Business Park, that compelling proposition.

Neil Spann
CEO
TinkleGuard

For anyone looking to develop their business idea, DCI provides the resources and community to make that journey less daunting and more successful.

Angela Davidson
Founder
Empowerment Learning Ltd

The DCI programme has been fantastic. The personal support, mentoring, and different perspectives from the cohort have validated my belief that what I'm doing is correct and has a real impact.

Kelly Walton
Founder
Reign Accounting Ltd

The support and friendships I've developed through DCI have been invaluable. Learning from other start-ups and having a community to lean on has made a significant difference in my entrepreneurial journey

Nicole Collins
Founder
AImploy

The DCI program has been instrumental in our journey. The networking opportunities and support from DCI contributors have been invaluable in shaping AImploy into the company it is today.

Arjun Cheruvally
Co-founder
Marmax Products

We have been delighted with the support that Business Durham and their partners have provided our company and with additional funding, we hope to further develop our working practices to safeguard our existing business and expand our capabilities to meet new customer demands and expectations.

Dave Johnson
Managing Director
Redditch Medical

NETPark is a fantastic place to do business in terms of facilities, potential for growth and for collaboration.

Steve Brown
Managing Director
Tekgem

The facilities and ancillary business services here are second to none and the campus feel of the science park suits the culture within the company.

Ian Gemski
Director
SEEDS

The ecosystem in NETPark is just right for us; SEEDS first came here because of its partnership work with the CPI and now our vision is to have a busy lab facility developing various applications and licensing them out to companies.

Peter Chalder-Wood
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Magnitude Biosciences

We expect to more than double the team in Sedgefield to 45 over the next two to three years, with a larger commercial team allowing us to expand our global footprint.

Dr Fozia Saleem
CEO
Teescraft Engineering

Teescraft Engineering has been a major employer in County Durham for a number of years and I’m delighted that, with grant support through the County Durham Growth Fund, the company is embarking on ambitious plans to significantly expand.

Hazel Sykes
Business Durham
ATT Fabrications

We knew we had the space to add new machines which would not only improve productivity and efficiency but also allow us to add new products and processes, the County Durham Growth Fund helped this happen.

Andrew Devlin
ATT Fabrications
AAA Caring Caretaker

The Caring Caretaker is a company that’s grown from one to a team of 41 and is now, with grant support from the County Durham Growth Fund, in the process of taking its business journey to the next stage, moving to much larger premises and creating a further 10 jobs, cementing its long-term future here in County Durham.

Sarah Slaven
Managing Director, Business Durham
Renovo Solutions

We’ve been incredibly lucky to have secured financial investment from Business Durham which really has been crucial to the growth of the business and fast-tracked our plans in such a short space of time.

Antony Gray
Founder
Ashgarth Engineering

The grant we’ve received from the County Durham Growth Fund has been invaluable to us as without it we probably would have only been able to purchase one machine.

Niall Ash
Director
TO Mounter

We were looking at investing in new machinery which would enable us to expand our client base, and our accountant mentioned the County Durham Growth Fund to us.

Lisa Mounter
General Manager
Creator

Investing in this additional space means we now own our future – we’re not in anyone else’s hands and that’s a fantastic position to be in.

Ryan Carter
Founder
E Catering

We took on more space than we needed to, allowing for our planned growth over the next five years, however with the grant support we’ve had from the County Durham Growth Fund, we are now looking at achieving our projections in the next three years.

Reece Ingham
Head of Finance
Tridonic

It has been a testing couple of years due to the pandemic and this support has been invaluable. Going forwards, we intend to invest further in technology and skills to strengthen our position in this competitive marketplace.

Ben Kennard
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Manager

Get In Touch

Business Durham is the business support service for Durham County Council, helping to deliver more and better jobs and a strong competitive economy.

Contact our friendly team for help with your business.

My enquiry is about
How did you hear about Business Durham?
Business Support Officers.jpg
bottom of page