£1m office refurbishment to pave way for more new jobs on Wearside

A newly refurbished office headquarters is on its way to providing victory on Wearside in the form of hundreds of potential new jobs.

One Victory Way on Doxford International Business Park has undergone a £1m renovation to meet the needs of modern occupiers post-Covid and now offers over 34,000 sq.ft. of striking office space set over three floors.

The news comes just days after food delivery brand Just Eat announced it was creating 1,500 new jobs in Sunderland as part of a £100m investment in the area over the next five years.

Chris Pearson is a partner at Naylors Gavin Black, which has been appointed as joint letting agent for the property alongside BNP Paribas Real Estate. He said: "It's fantastic to see high quality office space in such high demand in Sunderland, and with One Victory Way, more is now available to accommodate the requirements of forward-looking organisations."

Following last year's departure of business automation services provider Parseq, Victory Way Doxford Ltd, which owns the building facing the park's main entrance, has made a raft of improvements. The revamped premises will be presented at a launch event for inward investment representatives and commercial property agents from across the North East later this month.

The building's features include external landscaping surrounding a car park for 168 vehicles, which gives way to a centralised, full-height atrium. Electric car charging points have been installed as well as bike storage and shower facilities to help facilitate greener travel options.

The refurbishment programme incorporated a number of measures to help manage further outbreaks of Covid-19 or similar scenarios in the future. Five individual kitchen facilities have been installed in place one large canteen to help minimise staff contact whilst ventilation has been improved and outdoor seating areas are available for staff.

Only 30 minutes' drive from both of the region's airports, and close to the A19 for easy access to both Newcastle and Middlesbrough, nearby facilities include a large Virgin Active health club with swimming pools and racquet courts, and food retail options including a Greggs and Subway to complement the staff restaurants and canteens in many of the neighbouring office buildings.

Aidan Baker, senior director at BNP, added: "Thanks to the comprehensive refurbishment of One Victory Way it is now in a position to readily accommodate a national or international firm in need of first-class office facilities, with the potential for around 300 to 400 new jobs coming to Wearside.

"Major investment such as this only adds to Doxford Park's standing as the most prestigious business park in the City of Sunderland area, and demonstrate why it continuously retains big name employers such as Barclays, More Than, EDF Energy, Arriva, Royal Mail, EE and Nike."

No less than 11 bus routes also connect the park directly to not only Sunderland, but Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Hartlepool, opening up employment options to more of the region's job seekers.