Europa Capital and partner Addington Capital have sold a 62,652 sq ft call centre in Rotherham to a privately owned Isle of Man property company for £6.875m.
Home to Webhelp, and around 900 staff, the Dearne Valley site includes the freehold of the modern two-story building, with 440 car park spaces. It is let until March 2024 at a rent of £675,000 per annum (£10.75 psf). The deal represents a net initial yield of 9.25%.
The joint venture partners acquired the property as part of Prospect Portfolio in January 2016. The portfolio of 28 assets was bought from receiver on behalf of creditor PIMCO.
The assets were previously owned by individual borrowers. The loans secured against the properties were originally issued by Northern Rock. They were subsequently sold to Lehman Brothers which used them as collateral in the midst of the financial crisis to pay debts owed to German Bundesbank. This debt was subsequently sold as part of a wider loan portfolio to PIMCO.
In the recent deal, Allsop and Cushman & Wakefield acted jointly for the seller and Andrew Dixon & Company of Telford advised the purchaser.
Advertisement
Matthew Allen, principal of Addington Capital, said: "This deal follows on from our flurry of investment sales announced in February and is a further testament to the strength in demand for sub £10m properties. Breaking up portfolios acquired over the past two / three years remains further underpinned by the strong auctions market."
The Webhelp Group, a French based call centre specialist with turnover of €750m, acquired the Rotherham operation when it bought HEROtsc in 2013. The Indian-based HERO Group had bought TSC in 2007 for £40m.
When HEROtsc took over the former T-Mobile site at Manvers in 2004, staff numbers had dwindled to less than 300. Today the thriving Dearne Valley centre has employees working for leading trade names such as Vodafone, E.ON and Office Depot – with an ongoing recruitment and training programme to bring new jobs to the area.
Webhelp has seen exponential growth, becoming a global market leader in its sector. The TSC subsidiary has seen turnover increase by approximately 32% and profits increase by 26% since the 2013 takeover.
Plans to recruit 170 people at its Rotherham site were announced at the end of 2016.
Leading global customer experience and business process outsourcing company, Webhelp, has announced plans to recruit 170 people at its Manvers site in Rotherham.
Webhelp acquired the Dearne Valley site in 2013 when it bought leading contact centre operator, HEROtsc.
The full time roles are set to be recruited by the end of the year and will be a combination of customer service and sales advisors and will focus on voice communication. The demand is for staff to support existing clients.
Advertisement
David Turner, CEO of Webhelp UK, said: "This is a fantastic time to become part of a growing business in an exciting industry that is focussing on new technology and the future of customer experience. We have 35,000 people at 90 sites in 26 countries and our business growth shows no signs of slowing down.
"This has been a terrific period for Webhelp. We have just added the ninth company to the Webhelp family in a 24 month period, with the acquisition of social media moderation business, Netino, and we have signed a number of high profile new clients, including Unilever and Shop Direct."
When HEROtsc took over the former T-Mobile site at Manvers in 2004, staff numbers had dwindled to less than 300. At the time of the takeover the centre had over 830 employees working for leading trade names such as Vodafone, E.ON and Office Depot.
At the end of 2013, the Paris-headquartered Webhelp Group announced plans to recruit over 600 new people throughout its UK network with 150 new permanent positions at its Dearne Valley site. 50 new jobs were created in 2014 when Webhelp UK secures a contract with creative IT solutions provider, Jigsaw24.
Through evolution and acquisition, today Webhelp is a 35,000 people-strong global leader in business process outsourcing (BPO).
A project manager at Webhelp UK has pushed herself to the limits by competing in a world-famous boxing event at Barnsley Metrodome, raising over £3,000 for Cancer Research UK.
Christy Winfield, 35 from Barnsley, who works at the Manvers site of leading customer experience provider, Webhelp UK, undertook a gruelling eight week professional boxing training schedule in preparation for the Ultra White Collar Boxing event.
On the night, 600 spectators watched Christy hold her own in the ring against an opponent who was a stone heavier and 6 inches taller. What's more, Christy won with the judges announcing a unanimous win to the red corner.
Christy said: "This was such a fantastic event to be part of. Reaching the £3,000 mark in donations and tickets sold for the event, is unbelievable – everyone has been so generous, especially my colleagues at Webhelp. People that know me know I like to push myself to the limits, but this time I really wanted to do something that would benefit such a worthy cause."
Fellow Webhelp Project Manager; Dan Wiernicki added: "We were all very impressed with Christy's performance on the night. She was 100% committed to the cause and trained very hard for it. It’s great to see that everyone has been so supportive and generous with donations."
White Collar Boxing originated in the legendary Gleason’s gym in New York in 1988. The first contest was held between Dr Richard Novak, a lawyer, and Dr David Lawrence, who held a PhD in English Literature. Since then, white collar boxing has been the fastest growing corporate contact sport in the world.
Webhelp acquired the Dearne Valley site in 2013 when it bought leading contact centre operator, HEROtsc. When HEROtsc took over the former T-Mobile site at Manvers in 2004, staff numbers had dwindled to less than 300. Today the thriving Dearne Valley centre has over 830 employees working for leading trade names such as Vodafone, E.ON and Office Depot – with an ongoing recruitment and training programme to bring new jobs to the area.
At the end of 2013, the Paris-headquartered Webhelp Group announced plans to recruit over 600 new people throughout its UK network with 150 new permanent positions at its Dearne Valley site.
Customer experience company Webhelp UK has secured a significant new contract with creative IT solutions provider, Jigsaw24, creating 50 new jobs at its contact centre in Rotherham.
The Manvers based team will provide sales support to the provider of Apple and Adobe business solutions, and will manage customer enquiries across multiple channels including inbound calls, emails and webchat facilities.
The first 16 employees to complete the rigorous four-week training programme began work on the contract earlier this month.
With offices in Nottingham and Manchester, Jigsaw24 provides creative technology solutions for more than 25,000 businesses, large and small, across the UK.
Mike Purvis, sales & marketing director at Webhelp UK, said: "This is a significant new partnership for Webhelp UK. With a breadth of experience in managing B2B customer relationships, Webhelp looks forward to supporting Jigsaw24 as it continues to develop its business across the UK."
Nikki Ratcliffe, general manager, marketing at Jigsaw24, added: "Jigsaw24 is pleased to be working with Webhelp UK on what is one of our key growth initiatives.
"We're confident the skills of their talented team members will complement our existing in-house sales team. It was this cultural fit that sealed our partnership in the aim to deliver a superior customer experience for our clients and boost revenues."
Webhelp acquired the Dearne Valley site last year when it bought leading contact centre operator, HEROtsc. When HEROtsc took over the former T-Mobile site at Manvers in 2004, staff numbers had dwindled to less than 300. Today the thriving Dearne Valley centre has over 830 employees working for leading trade names such as Vodafone, E.ON and Office Depot – with an ongoing recruitment and training programme to bring new jobs to the area.
At the end of 2013, the Paris-headquartered Webhelp Group announced plans to recruit over 600 new people throughout its UK network with 150 new permanent positions at its Dearne Valley site.
Following the success of its pilot programme earlier this year, customer experience company, Webhelp UK, has created a further ten new roles targeted towards young people at its Rotherham site, as part of its nationwide skills initiative for young jobseekers.
Webhelp's Customer Experience Academy (CEA) was designed to bring career opportunities to young unemployed people, within the communities it operates in, who are finding it difficult to reach the first step on the career ladder.
The CEA gives vital pre-employment training to a growing number of job seekers who lack the necessary communication skills or experience to pass the standard entrance level of most employers.
Earlier this month, the Paris-headquartered Webhelp Group announced plans to recruit over 600 new people throughout its UK network with 150 new permanent positions at its Dearne Valley site.
Now in its second phase, 43 new Webhelp colleagues have not only completed the five week work skills course at Webhelp's Customer Experience Academy, but also the company's interview process.
These individuals are now not only employed full time by Webhelp UK, on standard terms and conditions, but are also supported through a 12-month modern apprenticeship.
The CEA graduates have gained a recognised Customer Service qualification to assist them in finding a job with a variety of other employers should they wish to diversify their careers in the future.
Claire Croden, head of learning innovation at Webhelp UK, said: "Webhelp's Customer Experience Academy has gone from strength to strength since launching our pilot scheme earlier this year. Phase two of the initiative has attracted over 40 new talented colleagues, who have already started a modern apprenticeship at our sites throughout the UK.
"Youth unemployment is a massive issue and more still needs to be done to create job opportunities. It's great to be getting involved and playing our part in bringing employment to a part of our society which desperately needs it.
"I'm very proud that we've been able to turn the pilot Customer Experience Academy project into a nationwide campaign."
