£8m pay-out on HeroTSC growth

Scotland’s largest call centre company, HeroTSC, returned £8 million to its Indian owner after profits and turnover both grew by a third in the last financial year.

The Falkirk-based firm, a wholly-owned but independently-run subsidiary of Indian manufacturing and engineering giant Hero Group, won “significant” contracts in the year to March.

That helped turnover rise from just over £47m to a little under £63m, while pre-tax profits went from £3.1m to about £4.2m. The firm had paid no dividend to its owner in the previous year.

HeroTSC has call centres in Aviemore, Dunoon, Greenock, Kilmarnock and Rothesay, as well as at its Falkirk HQ. It also has operations in England and one in India, managed from Scotland.

Earlier this year it announced a new contract with energy provider E.ON and said an expansion of its operations has seen employee numbers rise from 2,000 to more than 3,500 in the previous year-and-a-half.

Last week, the firm announced plans to open a 700-strong centre in Derby on behalf of blue-chip client Sky.

Chief executive David Turner said: “The long-term benefits from that will have a significant and positive impact on subsequent years’ profitability,” he said.

“It’s evident that we are well-placed for the future. We are now strategically repositioned at the value end of our market and can continue to grow over the next few years thanks to the talent, commitment and professionalism of our people.”

The past year’s profit growth came despite the cost of setting up an operation in Warrington to service the new, five-year strategic partnership with Vodafone.

This will be HeroTSC’s ninth UK site and once operational early next year it will take the firm’s headcount to about 4,500.