Historic building in Newcastle signs up three tenants after £1.5m transformation

A specialist North East recruitment company has moved into the former Cafe Royale building after the historic property was given a £1.5m makeover.

Lead Candidate is a pharmaceutical and biotech recruiter founded in 2020 by entrepreneur and investor Fiona Cruikshank and CEO Andrew Mears, alongside fellow director Raman Seghal, founder of Ramarketing. The business has seen significant growth, prompting a search for a new home in Newcastle.

Now the company has become the third and final tenant to sign up for space within the revamped 8 Nelson Street, bringing the building to full occupancy. The business has taken up the second floor of the Grade II listed property, joining international engineering firm Global Maritime which has moved into the third and fourth floors.

Meanwhile, Nisha Katona’s hugely popular street food restaurant Mowgli opens its first North East eatery in the building on March 14, having let the basement, ground and first floors. The lettings mark the completion of a five-year project to breathe new life into 8 Nelson Street, which was home to award-winning Cafe Royale for many years.

The award-winning cafe closed its doors suddenly in 2020, two years after it won Best Cafe in the Newcastle Awards 2018. The building was acquired by