Bet365 opens new Manchester technology hub
Operator to establish first UK base outside of Stoke with space to house 70-strong development team
Bet365 is preparing to open a new technology-focused base in Manchester, the operator’s first UK office outside of its Stoke headquarters.
The new office is scheduled to open in early May and the firm is currently in the process of hiring as many as 70 staff which will support and develop the operator’s back office sports betting applications.
According to bet365 head of software development Dom Hawley, Manchester was chosen for its technological expertise and transport links, which will enable the firm to attract talent from further afield as well as allow staff to move between Manchester and Stoke at relative ease.
The intake of staff will also be boosted by a clutch of graduates after the operator teamed-up with the local Keele University.
“It’s difficult to recruit to one location when you have the demand for IT talent that bet365 does,” Hawley said.
“We’ve found exceptional people in Stoke but it’s clear that we now need to expand our operation outside of the local area to grow our development teams further,” he added.
Bet365 members development manager Warren Hughes has been promoted to head up the office under the new job title of head of systems development, Manchester.
“The recruitment in Manchester has started off extremely positive and is already proving to be a location that can offer us highly skilled software development professionals who are passionate about technology,” Hughes said.
“This is not going to be an unstructured group of remote workers engaged in autonomous tasks. They will be a fully integrated part of the bet365 business,” he added.
In 2014 bet365 relocated its global operations team to its previously gaming-focused Gibraltar hub. Later this year the firm is expected to move out of its current Stoke headquarters and into a new local base roughly twice the size of its current home.