NFRN inks lease deal with Durham Group

NFRN has signed a ten year lease agreement with property investment company Durham Group Estates to occupy 13,000 square feet (sq ft)of space at the Bede House in Belmont Business Park, Durham.

The move by the Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has come as it is relocating its national headquarters from London to Durham.

The move is expected to create over 20 jobs in a variety of roles from finance, customer service, client management, communications and administration.

Stuart Reddish, NFRN national president, said: “The location at Belmont Business Park, with direct access to the A1 and the main line train station, combined with the high quality office space at Bede House, made a compelling case for us to relocate to Durham.

“When one also considers the North East offers a very stable, high quality workforce, then we have every reason to believe the move of our head office to Durham will ensure the Federation continues to thrive to the benefit of our members for the next century.”

Durham Group Estates, which operates across the North East and Yorkshire, completed the first phase of the 26,000 sq ft two-storey office building refurbishment in September 2019, with accountancy firm Baldwins occupying the 13,000 sq ft first floor.

“Coming from a background of working within my parent’s newsagents when I was growing up, to see the NFRN relocate its headquarters to Durham is a very proud moment for me,” commented Gurpreet Singh Jagpal, chief executive of Durham Group Estates.