Big ideas for local business.

A FACILITIES manager who looked after one of the biggest projects in Dubai has returned to the North East to set up a new business.

Until the economic downturn hit Dubai, Martyn Redshaw from Northumberland, was charged with ensuring the smooth running of the Palm Jumeirah.

The resort is visible from space and houses holiday homes owned by the Beckhams.

However, earlier this year, as the recession hit Dubai, Mr Redshaw was forced to return to the North East.

His employer closed down its asset management division meaning he, like many other British expats in the UAE, had to head home in search of work.

He has now set up a new facilities management business, Sincera, which he aims to build into a successful North East enterprise. Mr Redshaw said he also aims to help local businesses compete with national players for work on big projects in the region.

He said: "Too often in this region local businesses and tradesmen are pushed to one side in favour of larger national service providers.

"One of our goals is to bridge this divide by amalgamating local bodies into a larger group with corporate experience and quality management systems that transform the individual trades into an efficient, competent and low-cost service provider, capable of competing for contracts that would previously be off their radar."