Global ambitions for growing telemarketing agency

A North Yorkshire-based telemarketing agency and service provider founded in the midst of the pandemic has extended its presence overseas by setting up a base in Dubai.

Telu was established by CEO Benjamin Howe in Leeds in August 2020 with a team of eight people. Less than four years later it employs more than 90 people and has a turnover of about £3m.

The company, now headquartered in Harrogate, opened its Dubai branch last month and is currently recruiting in the wealthy Gulf emirate.

Howe, who has been working in the sales industry since 2016, said he was shocked by how fast the firm has grown, considering it was launched in such unpromising circumstances.

“People said to me you must be absolutely mental to start a business now,” he added. “And when the second [Covid] wave hit I thought we were in serious trouble.

“But then I said to our clients that this was actually an opportunity for them to get ahead of their competitors. We managed to help one client grow by 42% during Covid – they overtook all their competition.

“We had a plan to get to about 20 staff within our first year and we obliterated that target. We grew to 72 people in our first year.”

Telu also has a digital marketing arm and works with a wide variety of clients ranging from electric vehicle charger providers and soft drinks companies to care home procurement businesses and cleaning firms.

Howe said the company’s earlier plan to expand into Australia was scuppered by that country’s strict pandemic restrictions.

But he said Telu’s new base in Dubai should give it access to opportunities not available elsewhere.

He said the business is keen to work with ambitious clients who want to grow their own companies.

“We’ve got a strong management team in place and a good footprint in the UK,” he said. “We want to take on even more overseas clients and be a brand which people like and recognise, a brand where people know they can come to for quality and results.”