Round of Applause for Washington business centre

The couple have moved their established firm, Applause Accountancy Services Limited, into the new Washington business centre to support its growth plans.

They have been operating from their home in Birtley for the past nine years but now felt it was the right time to move in order to help them expand.

The Chartered Accountancy firm, which helps small to medium sized businesses with their accounting and taxation enquiries, works with clients nationally as far as London and Scotland and has seen a steady growth in clients particularly over the last two years, employing their first member of staff, Charlotte Lilley, in June.

Julie, 38, said: “The business has grown considerably over the last couple of years and we recently took on a new member of staff so we needed to find office accommodation that was still close to home but offered us the flexibility to grow.

“We visited The Hub which is just along the road from where we live and it was ideal.

“It’s a four-person office located less than one minute from the A1 and offers fee car parking which is ideal for clients visiting.

“The Hub is also part of the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) in Sunderland so we know we have access to additional business support should we require it in future.”

Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor Stephen, 41, added: “The business is at a stage where we felt it was the right time to move.

“We are taking on more clients and brought Charlotte in to help us with general day to day book-keeping and admin. We have plans to employ more staff in future and The Hub gives us the potential to achieve that.”

Jillian Coleman, Centre Manager at The Hub said: “We receive a lot of enquiries from small businesses who are operating from home but need to grow and require larger premises.

“We can provide flexible managed office space allowing businesses to grow without the headache of additional costs and hidden charges.”