Blog: Tees Valley Investment Zone

Tees Valley is being positioned at the forefront of the creative and digital sector like never before – making it the perfect time for existing businesses to grow and new firms to invest.

A new Tees Valley Investment Zone will work to unleash the strengths of the region’s cluster – bringing with it £160million of Government cash.

And one leading firm is already getting involved, committed to making the first new major contribution to the Investment Zone.

Tees Valley is home to the fastest growing digital sector of any Combined Authority Area, with 770 enterprises, employing some 8,000 people with a GVA of £424.5million. From the decade 2012 to 2022, the number of enterprises increased by 29% versus 17% nationally.

The Investment Zone will seek to bolster the region’s strength even further with investment in infrastructure, skills and workforce development, business support, planning and research and innovation. It is primed to help create more than 2,000 jobs and, potentially, unlock £175million of investment in the next decade.

Pneuma Group, the parent company of Middlesbrough-based video games developer and publisher Double Eleven, is paving the way in investment as part of this scheme – helping to shape the future of the offer and the sector.

The group as a whole is investing at least £15million, primarily to support Double Eleven’s growth, but also the dynamism of the region. Double Eleven has seen rapid expansion and, with 400 employees globally (300 in Tees Valley), it is now one of the top three independent game publishers and developers in the UK.

Pneuma Group’s commitment includes investment in fit-out for commercial spaces and new, state-of-the-art offices for the games company to further scale its production capacity as well as increase its attractiveness to talents globally, while ensuring its teams have access to top-tier technology. Double Eleven has taken over Boho X, the £30million office space at the centre of Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone – the digital, creative and business hub of Tees Valley.

Kimberley Turner, Chief Finance Officer of Double Eleven, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to help boost the dynamism of the region in support of our ambitions.

“We believe that our investment will allow us to offer even more premium job opportunities, strengthening our position as a key employer in the sector as we compete with other game studios globally.”

Pneuma is just one example of our digital landscape, which also includes the vibrant workforce employed in the application of technology across all industry sectors, particularly content creation vital to the creative sector, 5G, technology for digital trade, AI, data for green technology supply chains and freelancers and micro businesses in the creative sector.

The Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority worked with Teesside University as a co-signatory and the Tees Valley Business Board to develop the proposals.

Teesside University is a key part of the area’s digital offer, with more than 1,200 students currently studying digital-related courses. Its School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies is one of the best-equipped in the country and it has also launched the Industrial Digitalisation Technology Centre to support SMEs explore opportunities Industry 4.0 technologies will bring.

The Business Board has been positioned to provide oversight on the further development and delivery of the proposals to engage with businesses and ensure the Tees Valley Investment Zone is business-led. This means that both local businesses and newcomers can be assured of Investment Zone benefits that will be business friendly, directly aligned with strategic priorities and with a level of accountability.

Digital and creative innovation plays a crucial role in supporting the digitisation of all sectors and the Investment Zone will provide specialist support to businesses in the sector to boost productivity, create jobs and help transform communities across the region.