Refurbishment of prominent Durham office building completed with £750k investment

Privately owned North East property investment company Durham Group Estates has completed the second phase of a £750k refurbishment of Bede House at Belmont Business Park.

The company, which operates across the North East and Yorkshire, completed the first phase of the 26,000 sq ft two-storey office building last September with national accountancy firm Baldwins occupying the 13,000 sq ft first floor as part of a major investment in the region.

Durham Group Estates’ chief executive Gurpreet Jagpal said: “We have now completed the transformation of Bede House from subdivided small offices into large, open plan office suites with the very latest in audio visual and IT infrastructure.

“We completely overhauled all the mechanical and electrical infrastructure to ensure the building is energy efficient as well as being suited to collaborative, flexible working.

“We were delighted to welcome Baldwins Accountants which chose the premise as its main County Durham office. We have had very strong levels of interest in the remaining office suite and are in advanced negotiations with a national organisation, which would be a fantastic coup for the Durham area.”

Lord Wrigglesworth, chairman at Durham Group Estates added: “2019 was an excellent year for the business and with the exception of Bede House which was undergoing refurbishment, we were fully occupied across all our commercial, industrial, retail and student accommodation.

“This is testament to the financial investment we place in our buildings as well as the relationship Gurpreet and our property management team have with our occupiers. We look forward to making increased investment in the North East and Yorkshire during the coming year.”

Durham Group Estates’ overall property portfolio includes offices, retail, industrial warehouses, land and student accommodation.

Andrew Little, regional managing partner and head of the Durham office at Baldwins Accountants said: “We have signed a ten year lease having centralised three regional offices so that our 80 business advisory experts have an incredible new environment that is modern in appearance and offers vast open space.

“The location in Durham provides us with perfect access to the wider North East and beyond. We see this as an office of strategic importance, offering a great platform for growth. With 100 offices across the country we have become the fastest growing accountants in the UK.”