Extra space will lead to jobs growth, says Bosch
THE deal signed with Bruntwood for new space at the Plaza gives Bosch’s outsourcing arm the space to significantly upscale its operations in Liverpool when required, says UK general manager John Milburn.
The company announced last week that it had agreed a deal with Bruntwood to relocate from a 10,000 sq ft office at Cotton House into 16,000 sq ft of space at its Plaza building.
The business, Bosch Communication Centre, provides outsourcing services for a range of clients including Lufthansa, Burger King, Hallmark Greeting Cards and its own parent company, German industrial giant Bosch. Milburn said that its UK arm has grown substantially since it was set up in Liverpool in 2004 and it currently has around 140-150 permanent and freelance members of staff based in Liverpool.
They can work on anything from handling customer complaints, competitions and other projects and link with similar office run by the firm in other parts of the world.
Milburn said the new space not only gives it the capacity to increase the number of workspaces to 200, but also to operate three separate shifts over a 24-hour period, whereas it was previously confined to office hours.
“Over the last two years we’ve enjoyed good growth and with the property market the way it is it gave us an opportunity to look at other sites. After a thorough scan of the market we decided to stay with Bruntwood.”
The company moved into the new space earlier in June and Milburn added that it has proved to be more functional than the former open-plan offices at Cotton House, as there are more break-out rooms for training and private meeting sessions as well as a canteen and “social areas” for staff that are not currently on shift which contain iPod docking stations, TVs, free wi-fi and other facilities.
“It’s been designed for relaxation – even from the point of view of the palette as there aren’t any corporate colours in there,” he said. “It’s gone down very well.”
