Phoenix mulling further expansion in Scotland

The Northampton-based website-hosting firm launched in Scotland in 2003 with the opening of a base in Glasgow, and moved to its current site in Hamilton seven years ago.

Mike Osborne, managing director of business continuity at Phoenix, said: “When we started, it was all about dealing with disasters, such as  fire and floods. But now we’re increasingly dealing with telecoms and IT failures or viruses – these are the kinds of things that might take a company out of action for a day or two, but they need to recover quickly.”

Osborne said the key reason for Phoenix launching in Scotland was the strength of the financial sector, which he said continues to benefit as London-based investment banks move more of their back-office functions north of the Border.

The Hamilton facility has 780 workstations that are ready and waiting for clients to move in when disaster strikes, but the site only needs a workforce of about 12 to keep everything ticking over in the meantime.

Phoenix also has a smaller site at the Gyle business park in Edinburgh, and Osborne said the company was considering opening another base to cater for customers in Aberdeen and Dundee.

He said: “We have a strong presence in oil and gas, as well as manufacturing. Ideally, we’d like to expand north of Edinburgh, with a facility that could be used by clients all along the east coast.”