from left to right: Tony Edwards (RHK), Barry Stiefel (Spark Response),
Michael Cantwell (RHK), Peter Slee (Spark Response)
Spark Response is set to create more than 100 new jobs after being awarded a Selective Finance for Investment grant by One NorthEast with the help of Richardson Hall Kennedy’s corporate finance team.
Established in 1987, Spark Response provides outsourced business services in the home shopping and ancillary services market. These services include warehouse fulfilment, inbound and outbound telephony services, and e-commerce and data capture solutions. Clients include BSkyB, Powergen, De Agostini and Toys R Us.
The company currently operates out of three units totalling 180,000 square feet on Follingsby Park, Gateshead, and has 298 employees.
The project for which the grant has been awarded will see the company enter a fifteen year lease for an additional 75,000 square feet unit on Follingsby Park. This is currently being developed by Evans Property Group and is due for September completion. This new facility will enable the company to take on a number of new contracts, including a significant increase in business with Toys R Us.
To satisfy these contracts, Spark Response will need to recruit more than 100 new staff over the next three years, and spend approximately £1.5 million on new capital equipment. Turnover is expected to grow from £10 million in the last financial year to approximately £14.5 million in the year ending 30 June 2009. The expansion will assist the company in its aim of becoming an employee owned business.
Barry Stiefel, Managing Director of Spark Response, commented: “We are delighted to secure the SFI grant. This helps address some of the risks inherent in the project, and means we can look forward to the future with great confidence. We are very grateful for the assistance of RHK, with whom we enjoyed an excellent working relationship, and who project-managed the grant application on our behalf.”
Tony Edwards, Corporate Finance Partner at RHK, is pleased by Spark Response’s continued commitment to the region. “The company has made a significant investment in the North East over the years, providing jobs for hundreds of people. Approximately 95% of the company’s employees are resident in Tyne & Wear, and the company has developed strategic partnerships with a number of local businesses. With the onset of this project, the company will continue to play an important role in the local economy.”
Paul Buie of Tyne & Wear Development Company underlined the significance of Spark Response to the future of Follingsby Park: “Spark Response is considered an “anchor tenant” for Follingsby. The company’s further commitment to the site can only help in attracting other businesses and the development of its infrastructure.”
One NorthEast Director of Business and Industry, David Allison, said: “Spark Response is a genuine success story for the region. Retaining and nurturing developing businesses like Spark Response is a key aim of One NorthEast and I am delighted we have been able to help them consolidate their base in Gateshead as well as create new jobs.”
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RHK are registered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to carry out company audit work. RHK Corporate Finance LLP is registered in England and Wales as a Limited Liaibility Partnership (Registered No. OC308294)
