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Give us a little background on Quorum?

Quorum Business Park is currently the largest speculative office development in England.  Speculative meaning we are building first and then trying to attract occupiers.  The Park is in Longbenton four miles to the North of Newcastle City Centre close to Four Lanes End Metro station.  The Park will be almost 1 m sq ft when it is completed in 2012 and will be home to 10,000 jobs when full.

We are already home to the likes of IBM, Aesica Pharmaceuticals and Convergys and we have just announced the letting of our flagship building to Tesco Bank who will bring 1,000 jobs to Tyneside.

I’m the Development Director, primarily responsible for leading the letting campaign to fill the buildings.

Why are Quorum part of the Ambassadors programme?

A large part of my role is selling Quorum to big businesses, many of whom are outside the region.  I spend time in London and elsewhere talking to major PLC’s about the opportunity for them to invest and bring jobs to the North East.

Two thirds of what I do is about promoting the North-East and one third about promoting Quorum Business Park, so a big part of the message is promoting the lifestyle, workforce and culture of the region.

When people think about the North East there are so many iconic images from Hadrians Wall and the Northumbrian Coast to the Angel of the North and it is great to build them into the Quorum sales message.

 In many ways the work I do mirrors the inward investment work done by One North East, so it is good to align the positive messages about the region.

I think that North East England is a superb place to live and work. By becoming an ambassador and getting the message out there, we can help promote North East England as a dynamic and influential place to do business. 

I think it is important for as many people as possible to work together to promote the region as a high quality place to work and live to bring in investment and create the high value jobs.

Why do you think businesses are getting involved with the regional image campaign?

The North East has a strong identity but it’s sometimes hard to articulate and bring to life what that identity is.  I think the Passionate People, Passionate Places strap line perfectly sums up the North East.  North-East people are friendly, welcoming and enthusiastic about what they do.  The North East has a proud history interwoven into the towns, the buildings and the landscape.   The regional image campaign helps to reinforce those messages to inward investors and makes North East England a really attractive proposition.

The feedback I get particularly in London is all positive.  Our cities such as Newcastle are seen as good fun places to be and people in the South genuinely envy the quality of life that can be enjoyed up here.

It is great to hear what others say about the region.  Cool Brands has the North East accent as the top English regional accent, which is why so many contact centres are here.  People love to chat to a Geordie which helps massively with sales and customer relations. 

People that come to have a look at the North East like what they find, we just need to get the message out there and give them the confidence that the skills are here, the business infrastructure is here and we have good communications and infrastructure with London and the rest of the country.

We have first class Universities with 72,000 university students providing a superb supply of high quality graduates.  We just need to create the jobs to keep them in North East when they graduate.

How has it helped you at Quorum?

We have worked closely with the different authorities including One North East, Tyne and Wear Development Company and North Tyneside in our marketing efforts.  Through the Ambasador programme we have logos and photography at our fingertips, we have used in our brochures and website and actually in the buildings themselves. 

At Quorum we have a 10ft high montage of regional iconic photography at the entrance of our office.  One North East has also given us video footage which we have used in presentations we have given in London - so have found it really helpful.

Why  do you think others should get involved?

The campaign is really positive and is particularly relevant coming out of recession especially with the new technologies we are targeting in the North East.  It is a really great tool for anyone based here, looking to showcase what the region has to offer.  It gives the confidence to get out there and bang the drum for the North East.

We spent £10,000 having a major stand at the recent Offices 09 show in London and We took our large 10 ft by 12 ft model of the development down.   It was like taking a little bit of Newcastle to London for the day and showing the high quality infrastructure and amenities that we can offer.

At Quorum we are building high quality buildings and an international-standard business setting.  We are building tennis courts, a 5 a side football pitch and a boules court, all free for the staff working at Quorum.  We have just launched a new Quorum bus, are building shops and a hotel.  We organise events on site including tenants BBQ’s etc to provide a 1^st class working environment where big business can come in and attract and retain the best staff. 

It is understandable when times are tough that people retrench and focus towards home markets.  But by getting out there and being positive about the opportunities in the North East the big prizes are still there to be had as has been proved by Quorum and One North East recently bringing Tesco Bank and 1,000 new jobs to Newcastle.

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