Growing Hartlepool business moves from boss's front room to new premises

Derek Pape launched D P Property Lettings in 2007.

DP Property Lettings was launched in 2007 by Derek Pape and used to operate from the front room of his home in the Owton Manor area of Hartlepool.

But the company has been expanding and hiring new members of staff and this month got the keys to their new office at the town’s Innovation Centre.

Derek’s daughter, Jennifer Paul, 37, who started working at the company part time in 2013 delivering leaflets, has said the move to a bigger office space has been planned for the past three years.

D P Property Lettings staff (left to right) Jennifer Paul, Debora Magill, Samantha Smurthwaite and Derek Pape.

Jennifer, from the Fens area of the town, who is now manager of the business, said: “We only moved in last Monday, but already the atmosphere, the environment is so good.”

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She has described the move as a “massive change” after the team outgrew their previous home.

Jennifer said: "For the last two to three years we’ve been thinking we’ve outgrown the office.

"We all worked from my dad’s home. We converted his front room into an office, so we literally put all of our desks in there and we were all in that office on Owton Manor Lane.

"It’s fantastic for us from literally working in his home. His partner would be pottering on in the kitchen in the house and to have all of us there in the front room, she’s been fantastic.

"It’s been a massive change. I wanted it to be a great place to work. Now, with the new office, we have air conditioning, this fantastic space to go and have breaks, there’s outdoor spaces, kitchen facilities.

"It’s such a big change from having all the desks, and as we were growing, a new desk would come, an extra computer, you’d move things around, squish another one in, so it’s been a really big jump to go there.”

The firm currently has four members of staff and is looking two recruit two more people in the coming months.

Jennifer added: "I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. The staff is an amazing team. I can see the results of all of our hard work.”

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