New Appointment to Deliver Impact in The North

Alex Wannop (MRICS) joins urban regeneration and property management company, Creative Space Management, as the firm’s first Regional Property Director.  This dynamic new role is designed to maximise the impact of Creative Space Management’s expanding northern portfolio; delivering on business growth, high value job creation and urban regeneration outcomes for their public and private sector clients.

The initial focus will be on workspace assets and communities in the North East of England, before expanding the remit to several more Creative Space Management supported workspaces across Yorkshire.

Eleven months ago, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership released its second annual ‘Our Economy’ report; reviewing and commenting on the region’s key performance indicators.  In the foreword, Victoria Sutherland, Senior Economist for the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, makes the case for the distinctive role the area plays in one of the most competitive nations in the world. The Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) has been measuring the major factors of regional competitiveness over the past ten years and identifies ‘technology readiness’, ‘business sophistication’ and ‘innovation’ amongst their criteria. It therefore comes as little surprise, that major investments are being made to support growth in these areas across England’s northern regions.

In this new role as Regional Property Director, Alex Wannop will support the priorities set out in the North East’s regional Economic Plan and wider Local Industrial Strategy, through flexible workspace provision and collaborative ecosystem modelling at The Core and The Lumen.  Both centres are designed to deliver specific economic impact to the region and are located on the 24-acre Newcastle Helix development; home to a prestigious community of tech and science businesses and researchers.  Outside of the Helix development, Mr Wannop will be working closely with teams at the Toffee Factory; strengthening the impact of this landmark building for creative and digital sectors in Ouseburn Valley.  He will also be supporting ongoing projects in Sunderland, where Legal & General recently announced a £100m commitment to back Sunderland City Council’s plans for the regeneration of the former VAUX brewery site.

Of the new position and its strategic objective to support economic development in The North, Alex Wannop said:  “I’m thrilled to be joining the Creative Space Management team at a time when The North’s regions are delivering on strong economic and industrial plans; driving  those inward and domestic investments in our towns and cities.  I believe passionately in the growth potential of our northern economy and the critical role the built environment plays in that.

“As a company we specialise in managing workspaces and building business communities in Science and Technology, Sustainable Energy, Creative and Digital, and Advanced Manufacturing industries.  In my new role as Regional Property Director, I’ll be supporting the teams that manage the buildings where The North’s distinctive proposition is realised, playing our part in high-value job creation and globally significant innovation through business and knowledge-transfer clusters.”

As a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, with a celebrated career in Local Authority, and in multinational, private sector, built environment teams, Mr Wannop assures a first-rate knowledge of the local context, as well as a global perspective to property development, urban regeneration and workspace management.

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