Northumberland Energy Park is owned by Advance and is part of Energy Central. Credit: Invest Northumberland

Advance restructures £80m debt

4 April 2025 12:27 Sally Gibson Comments (0)

Northumberland’s development company will convert its debt into shares in an equity swap that councillors hope will pave the way for building more affordable housing.

The debt-for-equity move means Advance will no longer have to pay interest to the council, while the council hopes that having equity will allow it to have more influence on what gets built.

Advance Northumberland has £34.5m of projects under construction and £77m in the design and development stages.

Previous schemes completed by the company include the first phase of Northumberland Energy Park, Commissioners Quay in Blyth, Morpeth Leisure Park, Berwick Leisure Centre, Amble Retail Park, and Ashington Leisure Centre.

The decision was supported by the majority of voters at the county’s meeting last Monday.

Advance aims to grow profits £11m over the next five years, and wants to increase revenue to more than £120m.

Advance chief executive Steven Harrison said: “I make no apologies that we drive ourselves as a commercial company. I will not shy away from the fact that, on occasion, we will look to make profit…

“We want to make sure we’re adding genuine value to Northumberland. It is not just about putting buildings up, it’s about doing the right thing in certain communities.

“This will primarily be through the building of new houses and the development of new properties. We want to make returns, but it is about delivering, not about making money.”