Europe’s largest domestic and small businesses alarm provider, Verisure, is relocating its Centre of Excellence within Quorum Park, North Tyneside, from the Neon Building to the prestigious 100,000 sq ft, Q12, as it increases its headcount well ahead of expectation.
The firm, which arrived in the North East in early 2020, currently occupies 35,000 sq ft at the Neon Building and will transfer its 400-plus staff to Q12 during the first quarter of 2022.
It will initially take two floors, followed by a third floor in 2024/25. When fully occupied, Q12 will allow Verisure to meet the target of 1,000 plus staff that it had projected to deliver when moving to the region.
The Centre of Excellence is the rapidly growing hub for customer service, technical support, field operations, training, IT, telesales, HR and finance. Verisure is actively recruiting and expects to hire at least 100 to 150 further staff in the next 12 months.
Kevin Croft, site director at the Centre of Excellence, said: “The business is going through a tremendous period of growth which is witnessed by the fact we have more than doubled the number of people we anticipated we would have in place less than two years since we arrived at Quorum Park. We are also recruiting for high quality staff across all areas of the Centre of Excellence and we have substantially increased salaries across several functions. That sends a very clear message that we are a dynamic, industry-leading company that rewards its staff exceptionally well and that we have a long-term commitment to the North East.
“We are in a crucial phase of growth at the Centre of Excellence and despite signing a long-term lease at the Neon Building, our business forecasts tell us that we need substantially more space and so we have secured a deal for the Q12, which will provide us with three times the floor space and is ideal for the 1,000 plus staff we fully expect to recruit during the course of this decade.”
Verisure arrived in the North East in April 2020, as the country went into pandemic lockdown, with the pledge to create 1,000 jobs over a ten-year period. It invested over £3 million in the move and is the current market leader in new sales in the UK domestic alarm market. The company has strong sales across Europe and Latin America, with more than 4 million customers in 16 countries.
Verisure CEO, Austin Lally, who has close links to the North East having worked in Newcastle for a period with Procter & Gamble, said: “Having previously worked in the North East, it was no surprise that on almost any criteria we set out when selecting where to base the Centre of Excellence, that this region, above all others, came out on top. Newcastle city region is a wonderful location in which to grow a business and I know, at first hand, how passionate and loyal the people of the area are and why they make such good employees. The Centre of Excellence has grown far quicker than we had initially forecasted and the move to the Q12 will provide us with the platform to take us to the next stage of our development.”
Mayor of North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll, said: “I first met with Verisure’s directors two years ago. We worked hard to persuade them the North of Tyne was the right place to establish their Centre of Excellence. This was also a two-way conversation. Loyal employers build loyal workforces. I asked the directors about their vision for growing their business here, and it was based on looking after their team, giving everyone the opportunity to progress, and of course, paying decent wages.”
Mark Rabinowitz, director of Shelborn Asset Management, which owns Quorum Park, said: “Our latest letting to Verisure is clearly fantastic news for everyone involved in bringing the firm to the North East and follows a great deal of hard work over the past eighteen months.
“We are very proud to have helped facilitate Verisure’s expansion and absolutely delighted to see every building at Quorum occupied for the first time. Over the past two years we have welcomed a host of new names and are confident that we can maintain this momentum into 2022.”
Verisure UK is currently seeking applicants for a number of different roles across the business and the details can be found at careers.verisure.co.uk/
