New jobs in Southend as company extends offices

3:10pm Wednesday 19th November 2008

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ONE of Southend’s biggest employers is set to announce new jobs for the town as it extends its offices in Victoria Avenue.

Converso Contact Centres, based at Thamesgate House, which runs call centres, already employs more than 250 people in the town.

It is taking over another floor of the building, giving it an extra 2,750 square feet of office space.

The new area will be opened by Southend mayor Gwen Horrigan on Friday, November 28, when an official announcement of the number of new jobs will be made. Delighted councillors say the news is proof that confidence in Southend is still high, despite the national economic slump.

Nalin Tikkoo, Converso director, said: “The opening of a new floor demonstrates our commitment to Southend.

“It recognises the calibre of the labour available locally. Historically, the town has been home to many financial institutions and large public companies.

“As a result there is a wealth of contact centre experience to draw on in the area.

“Over the past 12 months we have invested heavily both in marketing and infrastructure to make Converso one of the UK’s leading outsourced contact centres.

“We have attracted new business from many blue chip companies which has led to the recent expansion.”

Converso was established in 1997 and was acquired last year by the Usha Martin Group, which has plans to create an extra 400 jobs in the town by 2010.

John Lamb, councillor responsible for regeneration, said: “This is good news for the town.

“We are able to create new jobs when the country is in a recession.

“It shows how successful Southend is in attracting good firms who are keen to expand on what the town has to offer.”