Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Marks and Spencer plc is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home products and food products. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Waitrose Limited, trading as Waitrose & Partners, is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still sells groceries under the brand. Its head offices are located in Bracknell, Berkshire.
HMV is a music and entertainment retailer, founded in the United Kingdom in 1921. As of February 2024, it is currently operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Belgium, as well as having concessions at Toys "R" Us locations in Canada.
Game Retail Limited is a British video game retailer, owned by Frasers Group since June 2019.
Sumo Digital Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Sheffield and the principal subsidiary of Sumo Group since 2017. The company was founded in 2003 by four former members of the management team of Infogrames Studios and, as of 2023, employs more than 1100 people in 16 studios. The developer's model has been described as work for hire.
Eurogamer is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network.
Currys is a British electrical retailer and aftercare service provider operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, specialising in white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones.
Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevelopment, which left only the eastern terrace standing, has been criticised, with one writer calling it "the greatest single example of architectural vandalism in Britain since the war".
Fenwick is a British chain of department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1882 by John James Fenwick in Newcastle upon Tyne, and today consists of nine branches. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1988 to 2010.
Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Originally a high street chain, it has since entered the convenience and drive-thru markets.
John Lewis & Partners is a British brand of high-end department stores operating throughout the United Kingdom, with concessions also located in Ireland. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the John Lewis Partnership. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. From 1925 to 2022, the chain had a policy that it would always at least match a lower price offered by a national high street competitor; this pledge was known by the name "Never Knowingly Undersold".
Boyes is a chain of department stores in England. William Boyes founded the firm in 1881 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire and it has been run by generations of the Boyes family ever since.
Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by landlords who had reservations about allowing a single-price store to operate, fearing it could adversely affect the local competition. An estimated 7 million customers shopped in Poundland every week in 2016, many being female shoppers in the C1, C2, D and E categories. Following a drop in share price of over 50%, Poundland was acquired in August 2016 by Steinhoff International for £610 million.
Cooplands is the second largest bakery chain in the UK with over 160 outlets and 12 cafes located primarily across Yorkshire, County Durham and Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Cooplands produces takeaway food chiefly for the lunch-time trade, specialising in sandwiches, pasties, desserts, cakes, and bread. It competes with other local cafés and takeaway outlets, and national and international high street food chains and franchises.
Grainger Town is the historic commercial centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It covers approximately 36 ha. Almost all of Grainger Town is in Newcastle's Central Conservation Area, one of the first designated in England. The area includes a mediaeval 13th-century Dominican priory, pieces of the historic Town Walls, and many fine Georgian and Victorian buildings.
Black Rock Studio Limited was a British video game developer based in Brighton, England. It was a division of Disney Interactive Studios. The studio was founded by Tony Beckwith in 1998 as Pixel Planet. It was acquired by the Climax Group in 1999 and was renamed Climax Brighton. In 2004, it became Climax Racing, as the Climax Group rebranded its studios. On 28 September 2006, it was acquired by DIS and was eventually renamed Black Rock Studio in 2007. The last game the studio developed for the Climax Group was MotoGP '07, which was completed after its acquisition by Buena Vista Games. The name is derived from a district in Brighton. In early 2011, the company faced lay-offs and was forced to abandon sequels for Pure and Split/Second: Velocity. Despite good reviews for both games, Disney turned down both sequels to focus on freemium content.
Zavvi is an online retailer of entertainment products, including Blu-rays, collectables, homeware and toys. Originally a physical retailer, the brand has been online only since it was bought from administration by The Hut Group in 2009. In July 2023, THG confirmed the sale of its OnDemand division, including Zavvi, to its existing leadership team, with financial backing from investment firm Gordon Brothers.
Team17 Group plc is a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. At the time, the two companies consisted of and were led by Michael Robinson, Martyn Brown and Debbie Bestwick, and Andreas Tadic, Rico Holmes and Peter Tuleby, respectively. Bestwick later became Team17's chief executive officer until 1 January 2024. After their first game, Full Contact (1991) for the Amiga, the studio followed up with multiple number-one releases on that platform and saw major success with Andy Davidson's Worms in 1995, the resulting franchise of which still remains as the company's primary development output, having developed over 20 entries in it.
Deborah Jayne Bestwick is a British entrepreneur. Following a short career in video game retail, she was part of the December 1990 merger between British video game publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7 that created Team17. She was the company's co-manager until buying out the other founders' stakes in 2010 to become chief executive officer (CEO). Team17 went public in May 2018, earning Bestwick £50 million in windfall gain. She has been awarded various accolades related to the video game industry between 2015 and 2017, and was pronounced a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in June 2016. She stepped down as CEO of Team17 on 1 January 2024.
