13 Jun Spectrum Business Park welcomes a fast-growing contact centre

“Paul Wellstead, Developer of Spectrum Business Park and Yvonne Charlton, Head of HR ResQ Seaham”

Spectrum Business Park welcomes a fast-growing contact centre which will create 1,200 jobs in the region. ResQ employs 670 people at its Hull site which is at full capacity, with their new offices now set up in the North East, they have already begun recruiting.

ResQ offers companies inbound and outbound customer services, helping firms connect with their customers through services including direct sales, customer retention and support lines.

ResQ has chosen Spectrum Business Park and County Durham because they say it offers the whole package – Spectrum Business Park provides superb quality accommodation, infrastructure and has excellent communication links. The family – owned business also said the skills and availability of the local workforce was a key factor in their decision making.

The firms new contact centre will service new and existing customer growth, new business wins and jobs being reshored to the UK.

The Hull-based firm scoured the North of England for a new business centre and worked closely with Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham, to identify a suitable premises.

It secured a £650,000 grant from the Let’s Grow North East Regional Growth Fund to help support its expansion into County Durham.

ResQ CEO Nic Marshall said: “Spectrum Business Park and County Durham as a whole offered us the quality of premises we needed for this key expansion of our business, with access to a large, high quality workforce which was critical in our decision-making process.

“We are delighted to be expanding our operations into the North East. Our growth means that County Durham will benefit economically as we create hundreds of jobs in Seaham over the next three years.

“Our growth is being driven by our customers who are growing with us and also the re-shoring of contracts which are currently being undertaken overseas with new customers in the digital, energy, retail and insurance sectors.”

ResQ plans to create 1,200 posts over the next three years. These comprise staff in client relations, IT specialists, HR professionals, training specialists and support staff. The first 60 employees have started work at Seaham.

Simon Goon, Business Durham Managing Director, said: “ResQ’s expansion into Spectrum Business Park is fantastic news for the local economy and one of the biggest inward investments County Durham has ever seen.

“We worked closely with ResQ’s senior management team to find them the exact fit to meet their business requirement. The high quality premises at Seaham and the skilled and flexible workforce the area has to offer was key to ResQ’s final decision to move to County Durham.”

Paul Wellstead, Developer of Spectrum Business Park, said: “I am delighted to welcome ResQ to Spectrum Business Park and I am certain that their staff will appreciate the high quality of office space that Spectrum offers.

“ResQ specifically targeted the excellent recruitment catchment of Spectrum and our well connected location will enable them to successfully grow their business. The business park is now a vibrant community of organisations across all sectors and we hope to achieve full occupancy in all of our Grade A offices in the coming months.”

BE Group, operate the Let’s Grow North East Regional Growth Fund. Simon Allen, Let’s Grow senior project manager, said: “BE Group, with our partners UNW chartered accountants, The Journal and Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, are delighted to be supporting ResQ with a Let’s Grow grant from the Regional Growth Fund to expand into the North East.

“This is a highly significant investment for ResQ which will create valuable new jobs in Seaham. Our offer of grant support will help create over 600 of these jobs which will be instrumental in the success of this important inward investment.”

ResQ supports the outsourced communications needs of a host of well known major companies in the utilities, retail, telecom and financial sectors.

ResQ is actively recruiting now for staff to fill posts and urges people interested in working at their Seaham business centre to go to its website http://resqcs.co.uk/careers/

It is working closely with Job CentrePlus on its recruitment drive.

Business Durham helped ResQ prepare its grant application, with the final application prepared by Neville Baldry of Clive Owen LLP.

It is on stand-by to assist the company further with its move through, for example, Durham County Council’s Employability Team to help it find the workers it needs.

The Let’s Grow North East Regional Growth Fund is a £60m fund operated by BE Group in partnership with UNW LLP, The Journal and Middlesbrough Evening Gazette.

It provides grant support for capital investment and R & D projects that will create new and sustainable jobs in North East England.

Looking to join a fast growing and inspiring business park in the North East?

We have a range of office space available from serviced to corporate. To arrange your free tour of the park, please contact Paul on +44 (0)7946 439 970