Fuel bills, tech & a business clinic
5 things we learned yesterday
1 The founder of the North East’s answer to TED has hailed the huge growth in the region’s tech sector, meaning he can now turn to firms on his doorstep to feature at the landmark event.
Leaders from top tech companies across the UK and further afield are at Sage Gateshead for the tenth annual Thinking Digital Conference, and the event’s founder and CEO Herb Kim had previously had to look beyond the region for digital leaders to join the line-up of speakers.
This year, however, the event has had a decidedly North East feel with more tech company leaders from the region than ever getting involved.
he saod: “Now, our first session was almost entirely North East.”
2 A university business clinic helping to drive forward North East firms has moved into a new state-ofthe art base in Newcastle following an £800,000 investment.
Northumbria University’s highly successful Business Clinic has relocated to its own 500sqm premises on New Bridge Street, where it has also received £150,000 from Santander Universities UK.
To date, the Business Clinic has helped more than 600 students advise more than 145 organisations.
3 Newcastle Building Society is set to create 130 new jobs this year as part of moves to strengthen its presence in its North East heartland.
The region’s largest building society has set in motion a new branch review which will involve investment in a number of branches in the North East and Cumbria.
The programme will involve the relocation or refurbishment of three branches – in Durham, Carlisle and Berwick – all of which will be completed over the next 18 months. The building society’s strategy to focus more closely on its heartland area will lead to branch closures in Dumfries and Gibraltar, a decision the society said had not been made lightly.
4 Gas and electricity could be sold in the same way as mobile phones, an energy expert says.
With energy prices rarely out of the news these days, North East company Future Energy foresees a future where households have certainty on their annual bill.
Chief executive David Stroud says smart technology will allow a household to predict its annual energy usage and potentially agree a price with its supply company for the coming 12 months.
5 Amazon is celebrating 20 years as a publicly traded company this week, a period marked by a boom in e-commerce at the expense of the high street.
The US company launched its initial public offering on May 15 1997, at 18 US dollars (£13.94) per share, nearly three years after founder Jeff Bezos started the company in July 1994.
Two decades later, the online retail giant’s shares have rocketed 5,216% to 957 US dollars (£741).