Member Article

JC Events on why they chose South Tyneside

JC Events recently moved into One Trinity Green and are expanding. Here, director, Jacqui Chapman, takes us through why she chose to locate her business in South Shields, at One Trinity Green.

Why did you choose to be based at One Trinity Green?

I was looking for somewhere new to locate my business and wanted to be in a place that had fresh impetus and an innovative and exciting attitude to doing business. One Trinity Green fits the bill in so many ways. There is a choice of office space, and I quickly found one perfect for my current team and from where we can grow. We need to keep in touch with clients at all hours and the centre has an incredibly fast and trustworthy wi-fi and internet capabilities. It also had a separate workshop from where we could construct our sets and store our props and equipment. We are very busy and although there’s not a lot of time to relax, there’s also a good sense of community with regular tenant meetings - and as there’s a wonderful rooftop garden, meetings can be held there which is perfect on a lovely hot day!

Your business takes you all over the North East – why is being located in South Tyneside so important to you?

It’s important because we need to be able reach clients and venues quickly to arrange meetings, check briefs and ensure the staging of each and every event is right. Getting the timing right is vital, and although all our events are rehearsed and perfectly structured, every minute can count. South Tyneside is so centrally located geographically within the region that I can be in Newcastle and Sunderland within 20 minutes, Teesside straight down the A19 in around 40 minutes, and of course through the Tyne Tunnel in little more than five. I’ve found the area to have an extremely positive outlook towards business and there’s a sense that things are getting done and progress is being made.

What other services and support do you get?

Staff are on hand to support you the moment you walk through the door. Business manager Siobhan O’Brien clearly loves what she does and is a constant source of advice, enthusiasm and help. It’s fair to say that nothing is too much trouble for her and her team, and that can stretch to just getting you a dash of milk for your cuppa if you’ve run short! We can often be working through the night, loading and unloading for big events so the fact the building is accessible 24 hours-a-day with car and van parking and security staff on hand throughout the night is vital to a business that can work unsociable hours like JC Events often does.

What do you think of the business community based there and the conference facilities?

It’s great to be part of an up-and-coming business centre that is quickly filling with varied and interesting companies. It’s a busy centre and there’s always someone new to meet or another face to see. Our office is on the second floor and our workshop is on the ground, opening up on to the car park, so in many ways we can be the first company that people see when they arrive each day. There’s a diverse mix of high-tech firms, some working in environmental technologies, and there’s also a performance marketing firm, a security firm, a public relations company, as well as software companies, a pipeline supplier and a renewable energy installer. There always seems to be a buzzing atmosphere with something going on, which may be partly due to the fact that the conference facilities are used most days by business professionals. I’ve attended some of the networking events that have been hosted here and there are an added bonus of being based here and an excellent way of extending and growing your contacts book.

What are your plans to grow your business?

JC Events was established just four months ago and we’ve been incredibly busy, so much so that we’ve been able to expand our workforce on the back of recent contract wins and event orders. We work with a wide range of clients who want many and varied types of staging for their events, which is always challenging but incredibly

satisfying. We’ve already worked for Fuji Films, RICs, Eurogamer, Prime Entertainment, PR agency White Hot Communications, and staged Newcastle Building Society’s 150th anniversary party. Other clients include Benfield Motors, NOF Energy, NEEF, Intersnack, Cestria, 2Macs, Rainbow Trust, GameHorizon, and Albion Overseas. We have also been signed up by PD Ports for a big event in October. Through working to the highest levels of customer care and satisfaction we intend to continue growing the business adding to both the core events and office team.

What would you say to a business looking to set up at OTG?

I’d wholeheartedly say go for it or, at the very least give a slice of your time to meeting Siobhan and her team. There’s nothing to be lost and a vast amount to be gained by any business which wants to operate from a vibrant and totally user-friendly centre alongside like-minded, talented business people intent on success. I’ve been working around the North East for many years and I can’t think of anywhere quite like it, there’s nowhere else I’d be based.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by One Trinity Green .