Former IT whizzkid moves business to Mercia Marina
A former IT whizzkid who set up his own technology company when he was just 18 has moved his business into Mercia Marina.
Lee Jepson now employs 32 staff at L.E.A.D IT and manages IT services for 135 schools, 28 of which are in Derby.
The company is part of the L.E.A.D Academy Trust which provides professional services to schools, ranging from IT to financial management, leadership support and human resources.
The number of schools that L.E.A.D IT is working with has more than doubled since January 2017 and Jepson has come a long way since he first launched the venture when he was a student at Noel-Baker Academy in Derby. His company also works with businesses and charities.
He said: “We were originally known as Noel-Baker IT services where I was the network manager for Noel-Baker School. We started supporting Alvaston Junior School as a feeder school and then other schools started to hear about the services that we offered and we picked up more. It just gained momentum over the years as we were saving schools money to invest into their IT equipment. We also started to take school leavers from various schools in Derby offering them apprenticeships and training.
“Now we work in Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln, Newark, Mansfield, Sheffield, Leeds and we have just picked up a contract for Luton Council. We also have a hub in Sheffield and one in Nottingham for staff who need to work in those areas and to save them from travelling.
“The driving factor for me when I was 18 was that I wanted to get out there and buy my own home. I never could have imagined that we would be where we are now and in this location.”
Jepson, of Belper, is looking to expand further and has moved into offices at Mercia Marina that were formerly occupied by pharmaceutical company Bionical, which has moved into the marina’s new Piazza building. His company was previously based at Pride Park after moving out of Noel-Baker Academy.
He said: “We were working on the CCTV, door access control and alarm for the new Piazza building and I heard that Bionical were moving, I thought this would be a great location for us. We’ve installed free Wifi in The Boardwalk Bar & Dining at the marina and we are looking to see what we can do for the boaters here too.”
Robert Neff, general manager at Mercia Marina, said: “Mercia Marina celebrates the extraordinary, the ground breaking, the trendsetting, those that think and live outside of the box, and that means we are very proud to have Lee and his team with us. His achievements at such a young age are admirable and we welcome Lee and his team. We will certainly be using L.E.A.D. IT’s services.”
