Hotel group eyes major expansion
5 things we learned yesterday
1 A hotel group whose UK base is in Newcastle is eyeing UK expansion following a multimillion-pound finance deal overseen by North East law firm Sintons.
The Canadian Sandman Hotel Group transformed the former Scottish and Newcastle HQ in the heart of Newcastle into the Sandman Signature hotel in its first foray into the UK in 2011.
Now the firm, which also owns a hotel at Gatwick, is scouring the UK for new sites to open, backed by an eight-figure refinancing package with Allied Irish Bank (GB).
The family-owned business, which is the leading hospitality group in Canada with more than 40 leisure venues across the country, is investing more than £20m in its third UK hotel in Aberdeen. 2 A £1m project to transform an empty Newcastle city centre building into a three-storey bar and restaurant is just days away from coming to fruition.
Plans to turn the former Capology shop in High Bridge into the city’s newest nightlife venue first emerged more than a year ago when the leisure arm of Danieli Holdings signed up for the building following the success of its Yolo Ponteland bar and eaterie.
Now contractors are adding the final touches to Yolo Townhouse, three floors of drinking and dining space which has created 100 jobs. 3 Gateshead tech firm Zytronic tackled the harsh winter weather and soaring summer temperatures of Russia’s capital city as part of its latest global deal.
The company’s touch sensors are used around the world in ATMs, digital signage, self-service kiosks and gaming machines as well as by industrial and medical original equipment manufacturers.
Now the firm is working with a partner firm in Germany, Elatec, which has seen it already supply almost 700 touch sensors for selfservice ticket machines installed on the Moscow Metro and at Moscow bus stops. 4 Motorbike safety app RealRider has expanded into the Canadian market, in the firm’s first international launch since it hit the UK market last year.
The app helps save lives by contacting emergency services if a rider has been involved in a crash and directing ambulances to the scene using GPS technology.
The product, which is made by Newcastle-based Realsafe Technologies, has been on the market in the UK since May 2016 but has now officially launched in North America.
Realsafe Technologies chief commercial officer Andrew Richardson said: “We are the first motorcycle app integrated into 911 in Canada. We are now operating and we have people downloading and subscribing.” 5 A pest control business that uses birds of prey to get rid of unwanted pests is expanding around the country and aiming for £2m in turnover.
Contego Response was founded by managing-director Michael Taylor in 2004 after previously working as an animal trainer on feature filmssuch as the Harry Potter series.
The County Durham-based company now uses a flock of more than 60 hawks and falcons to rid its clients of nuisance birds.
Contego’s clients include Stagecoach, Asda, Arriva, Durham County Council, Tesco and DTZ.