In this new addition to East Durham Business magazine, Five Minutes With, we chat to Ranj Gill, who is co-director of commercial property company Clearwater Developments and co-chairman of East Durham Business Network.
Here Ranj tells us more about the benefits of networking, how being part of a business community has supported his company’s growth and why collaborative working is so important…
EDB. Tell us more about role within East Durham Business Network and how you became involved?
- RG. With our commercial property hat on, Gursh and I had attended a networking event a few years ago and were very impressed with the quality and quantity of attendees and the format of the event.
When we completed the purchase of Spectrum 5 from then network chairman Paul Wellstead, he spoke to us about the need for someone to step into his shoes.
We knew the network was not only established, but also very popular with businesses around the region, and as we wanted to target potential tenants it made sense for us to become the new co-chairmen.
We took on that role in 2023 and it’s been great for us. We’ve met some fantastic people but also been introduced to businesses that have then become our tenants and suppliers.
EDB. Why do you think East Durham Business Network is so successful?
- There are a few reasons.
Firstly, it’s run by people that care about our area and want to see East Durham’s business community thrive.
I think the events we put on are what businesses want – they can network, meet new people and catch up with the existing contacts, and our speakers are engaging and relevant.
We’re also welcoming and friendly – you’d think that would be a given from a networking group but it isn’t always the case. We open our doors to any business, no matter where they’re based – if they’ve taken the time to attend one of our events, we’re happy to welcome them.
EDB. The network recently hosted its biggest event to date, featuring a panel Q&A. Tell us a bit about that.
- We’ve been running a quarterly events programme for a number of years now, but we’d never put on a flagship event, something that really highlighted how East Durham Business Network has grown. So together with Michelle, Guy and Fay from Business Durham, and Leanne Fawcett from LEC, who are the other members of the network’s steering group, we organised an event which we called An Economic Outlook: Growth and Opportunity in County Durham.
The event was on another level to anything we’d held before and probably took a year of planning.
We invited guest speakers and business leaders to form a panel, who talked about and answered questions on issues that affect our business community, from access to skills and leisure and hospitality sector growth to access to finance and the challenging global landscape.
I introduced the event, while Gursh sat on the panel and Leanne was the compere, and we had probably 75 people in the room which was great.
Feedback from everyone who attended has been overwhelmingly positive and it’s certainly something we’re looking at replicating next year.
EDB. You’re also creating a community at Spectrum Business Park aren’t you?
- Yes, we are. Clearwater Developments now owns and manages three buildings in the area, Spectrum 5, Lighthouse View Workspaces and Lighthouse View, which each accommodate a mix of tenants from a range of sectors.
And within those buildings we have really enhanced the community facilities – for example Lighthouse View houses Fit24 gym, while in Lighthouse View Workspaces we have our café, Bee Bistro, and our new training centre, which offers training and meeting rooms and conference and event facilities for tenants and external companies.
As occupancy continues to increase, the area is becoming a thriving business community that collectively employs over 200 people.
EDB. What’s next for Clearwater Developments?
- At the moment we are focussing on full occupancy of Spectrum 5 and Lighthouse View Workspaces, however never say never as far as future acquisitions if the right opportunity came up.