Staff from Schools Broadband have been celebrating the opening of their new state-of-the-art offices on Leeds Road in Ilkley.
The brand’s parent company Talk Straight, owned by business partners David Tindall and Tim Sedgwick which started life at Tim’s kitchen table only eight years’ ago has now grown to employ almost 50 people.
This will be the third move that the company has made over the last six years, having moved to an office on Little Lane in 2010 and then on to Dalesway House in Ilkley in 2012 as the number of staff has continued to grow.
David Tindall worked closely with staff in the company to ensure that everyone had an input into the design and facilities. “As a forward-thinking technology company we wanted to create a head office that’s exciting and comfortable to work in at the same time as being a highly-functional space that will maximise working efficiency. It’s taken a couple of months to convert the empty shell, but the whole office team are really pleased with the end result.”
Features include zonal air-conditioning, motion-controlled lighting, a grassed indoor picnic area, mobile controlled kettles, a shower and special ‘quiet’ relaxation areas for staff. The new office will also house the control centre for the company’s network operations team who look after the broadband for over 1,000 schools across the UK. Solar panels are in the planning by the end of the year to meet the company’s strict environmental policy.
Tim Sedgwick commented on the company’s growth: “It’s been an incredible eight years and despite tough economic times we’re proud to have flourished so well. I feel extremely pleased that we’ve been able to offer many young people employment opportunities, particularly as there are very few technology companies in the locality. Our new offices have the capacity for up to 35 additional staff and I hope the company will continue to grow over the next few years.”
Schools Broadband serves over 1,000 schools nationally, giving them the fastest possible internet speeds coupled with education specific content filtering from Lightspeed Systems and industry-leading security from Fortinet. In 2014, Talk Straight were winners of the ISPA (Internet Service Providers Association) award for Best Business Use of Cloud.