Major expansion for Sitel from support of Growth Hub

Customer care giant Sitel may not have expanded in Coventry if it was not for the support of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub, it has been revealed.

The company, which is currently based in Sherbourne House in the city centre, is creating more than 400 new jobs after signing a 10 year lease on a new base at Earlsdon Park. 

It has now been revealed that the global company was also considering other options, and the CW LEP Growth Hub was the driving force behind keeping the expansion in Coventry.

The Growth Hub, which helps businesses grow by giving specialist advice and support, provided Sitel with the correct contacts within Coventry City Council and co-ordinated activities to support the expansion, such as conducting property searches to identify suitable buildings.

It was the searches conducted by the council which identified Earlsdon Park as one of the properties available to the company.

Phil Peak, Senior Account Manager at the CW LEP Growth Hub, said: “We have had a co-ordinating role on behalf of Coventry and Warwickshire with Sitel since we first met General Manager Karl Brough two years ago.

“We supported the company when they first moved to Coventry by providing the relevant contacts within Coventry City Council to support with employment as well as financial assistance.

“We also organised an official opening, inviting the relevant delegates, and have continued to liaise with them ever since.”

Phil added: “During this latest expansion, we again provided Sitel with the appropriate contacts within the council which they did not have access to.

“When they were considering expanding in Coventry they were also looking at other options and they also were being offered support in those areas, but we ensured that the company had the right access to the right people so that they committed to Coventry.

“The expansion is excellent news for the people of Coventry and we are delighted to have helped facilitate this.”

Sitel, which has its headquarters in the USA and its UK head office in Stratford-upon-Avon, employs more than 75,000 people.

Phil said: “One of the key aspects Sitel likes about Coventry is that it is so multicultural. The company offers multilingual support to customers which makes Coventry an ideal location.

“The city is also in a central location and close to its UK headquarters also in the Coventry and Warwickshire region. We’re pleased to have assisted Sitel in its growth and look forward to continuing to work with the company in the future.”

Jonathan Browning, chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “We are delighted that Sitel is expanding in Coventry and that the support that the Growth Hub has offered the firm has been recognised as playing a key role in the move.”