New agreement aims to make region a ‘major hub’ for green construction
A new partnership aimed at boosting construction in the East of England and fostering trade links between the UK and Turkey was signed in London last week. The agreement between Freeport East and Assan Panel, follows the Turkish-owned building materials company’s £45m commitment to a new manufacturing plant at Gateway 14 in Stowmarket (image, right). Under the memorandum of understanding, Freeport East will help Assan Panel to build its UK presence, by engaging with future customers and building local supply chains and university links. Meanwhile, Assan Panel will help create a construction cluster; working with Gateway 14 Skills and Innovation Centre and providing opportunities for young people in the region. By basing its UK operations at Gateway 14 in the Freeport East zone, the hope is that Assan Panel – which is part of Kibar Holding – will help make East Anglia a major hub for innovative green construction materials in the UK and northern Europe. The project will create 100 jobs. Steve Beel, chief executive of Freeport East, said: “Our collaboration with Assan Panel further strengthens the trade ties between the UK and Turkey and opens up further opportunities for bilateral investment between our countries….We look forward to the positive impact this partnership will have on both our region and the wider green construction industry.”
Historic Norwich building transformed into business centre
A run-down Grade II-listed Georgian building in Norwich has been revived as a business centre through a partnership between a city property investment company and a Norfolk property services firm. Nearly 10,000 sq ft of office space has been created in Pottergate House by Madone Management, which has worked with Arnolds Keys to transform the building into a workspace. Seven of the eight office suites have been taken up, with work nearly complete on the refurbishment of the last suite, which is being offered to let. Occupiers including Cooper Lomaz, Tigermar Global, Voluntary Norfolk and Citizens Advice Bureau have relocated to the centre. After buying it at auction in 2023, Madone Management sought Arnolds Keys’ advice on a strategy for the building and to market it to potential occupiers once refurbished. “We identified that Pottergate has become an attractive place for businesses; it is a quiet, characterful location right in the centre of the city,” said Arnolds Keys head of commercial agency Nick O’Leary. The refurb has included super-fast broadband, perimeter trunking, energy-efficient LED lighting and a secure telephone entry system.
Photo: (from left) Ed Slade, Cooper Lomaz; Michael Kitching, Voluntary Norfolk; Alex Stevens, Madone Management; Ollie Napthine, Tigermar Global; Mark Hitchcock, Norfolk Citizens Advice Bureau; Nick O’Leary and Harry Downing, Arnolds Keys
Business activity dips in the region but firms more optimistic on the outlook for growth
Business activity and new orders fell in the region in February but private firms were more optimistic on growth prospects for the year ahead. The NatWest East of England growth tracker business activity index dipped to 48.8, little-changed from 48.9 in the previous two months and pointing to a further modest contraction. New business fell for the third month running as domestic and global uncertainty took its toll and the region’s private sector workforce fell for the sixth month running. But sentiment on the outlook was the strongest in four months linked to sales drives and lower interest rates. Input price inflation picked up for the third month running with salaries, supplies and commodities all on the rise. Lisa Phillips, regional managing director, Midlands and East, commercial mid markets, said: “The East of England continued to experience a soft patch in the opening quarter of 2025, with activity, jobs and new business all falling again in February….More positively, companies are looking beyond the current domestic and global uncertainty, with the 12-month outlook recovering to its highest since last October.”
New investment boosts processing capacity at Norfolk-based waste recycling business
Norfolk-based contractor Anglian has increased capacity at its waste recycling division by investing in a new state-of-the-art shredder. Supplied by Doyle Machinery, the Arjes Titan 950 can shred materials including metal, wood, plastics and commercial waste, to process each type for recycling. The large 37 tonne mobile shredder can handle demanding applications for Anglian’s large-scale waste recycling operation in Attleborough which processes hundreds of tonnes of scrap metal and other recyclable materials each year. It also separates ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Managing director Lee Storer said: “…Anglian is the only company to shred scrap metal in Norfolk so we’re looking forward to really putting the shredder through its paces, as we continue to increase the amount of materials sent off for recycling and looping back into the circular economy.”
Work starts on £18 million skills and innovation cente in Stowmarket
Work has started on the Skills and Innovation Centre at Gateway 14 which is set to boost growing sectors such as the green economy and digital/AI technology and offer new training opportunities. The three-storey, state-of-the-art centre will be sited on the Gateway 14 business, innovation and logistics park is part of Freeport East, next to the A14. As well as office space for high growth start-ups, collaboration and innovation spaces, meeting rooms and a café, the centre will be used for training, working in partnership with the universities of Suffolk and Essex, West Suffolk College, Suffolk New College and Colchester Institute to address the region’s skills gap. The contract to run the centre has been awarded to Hethel Innovation and property developer Jaynic is delivering the project as the development partner of Gateway 14 Ltd. and Wilten Construction is the contractor on the scheme. Jaynic development director Ben Oughton said: “The skills and innovation centre at Gateway 14, ensures that the site is becoming a truly mixed-use scheme attracting a variety of users that will benefit the regional economy in this part of East Anglia.” Gateway 14’s first unit to have been completed – a 1.17million sq ft logistics and distribution centre for The Range – is up and running.
Busy year expected for pubs and restaurants sales in the region
A series of pubs and restaurants are up for sale ahead in what is expected to be a busy year for deals across the sector in the region. Overlooking Ipswich’s marina, the Waterfront Bar & Bistro (photo) seats 90 people and is for sale with an asking price of £560,000. Elswhere a new lease is available at 25 St Nicholas Street in Ipswich town centre which is vacant but operated as a restaurant, serving 50 covers over two floors. Pubs for sale include the Grade II-listed The Half Moon Inn, Belchamp St Paul in Essex which dates to the 1500s, which is on the market with an asking price of £495,000. Meanwhile, offers are being invited for a free-of-tie lease on The Half Moon Inn, Rushall a Grade II-listed former coaching inn in Norfolk, known for its food offering. The Dragoon, Brampton in Norfolk is also on the market with both freehold and leasehold options. “These are five unique and exciting opportunities in East Anglia. Following the successful sale of a number of hospitality and leisure properties across the region over the past year, we expect to see an even busier year for East Anglia in 2025,” said Hugo Fairbanks Weston, business agent at Christie & CoDS.
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