North East-based, fast-growing Financial Planner Fairstone is moving its HQ from Newcastle to new offices on the outskirts of Sunderland.

The new offices are in Doxford International Business Park and were formerly the UK base for Nike.

Fairstone, which incorporates one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, says its relocation from Newcastle, Fairstone’s base for the past 15 years, reflects continued growth and plans for further expansion.

The firm, which has acquired dozens of Financial Planning businesses over the past few years, has more than £130m in gross revenues and 1,200 staff working from 56 locations across the country.

The new office will include ‘neighbourhood workspaces’, a business lounge, restaurant, private meeting pods, a media studio and an amphitheatre to host events.

The new HQ will also provide bespoke client meeting areas for in person and remote virtual meetings.

Work has begun on fitting out the 25,000 square feet two storey building with plans to move in fully by the end of September.

Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said: “We are committed to maintaining the highest standards for clients and colleagues alike and, as our business continues to expand, we have been seeking a location better suited to those requirements.

“In terms of capacity, we want to be able to accommodate at least another 120 head office staff and at the same time massively increase our meeting and collaboration spaces. We are extremely proud of our North East heritage and as such I’m committed to keeping our head office in the region.

“We are delighted to be making this investment into Sunderland – a city that has a clear appetite to support ambitious business that want to invest in growth. The area has attracted global companies such as L&G, Barclays, Nissan and EE and will soon house one of the largest filmmaking centres in Europe.

“Our new head office will be a vibrant and enjoyable home for our colleagues. We didn’t just want to create a bigger and better head office – we want to build a space that makes us even more attractive in the job market, helps us to secure the very best graduates in the area and enables us to meet with clients and business partners in a greatly enhanced setting.