Highlands and Islands Enterprise Newsroom

08 July 2019, 10:35

Equiniti welcomed to Thurso Business Park

Equiniti welcomed to Thurso Business Park: Equniti - SaCampbell

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has welcomed an international technology-led services and payments specialist as the newest tenant to Thurso Business Park.

The agency has developed the park to enable local firms to expand and to attract new companies into the area.

Equiniti Group plc is the latest company to move onto the park, bringing its 32 employees to William Smith House.

The firm provides non-discretionary payment and administration services to some of the world’s best-known brands and UK’s largest public-sector organisations. Its EQPaymaster division is one of the largest providers of outsourced pension administration in the UK, working with schemes in the public and private sectors with complex defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid arrangements.

Equiniti supports around nine million pension scheme members and pays around 20% of UK pensioners, delivering £25 billion in payments to 3.5 million pensioners and annuitants in 2017.

The company’s Caithness office administers pensions for the nuclear clients UKAEA and Combined Nuclear Pension Plan (CNPP).

After securing pension administration contracts for the UK Atomic Authority and CNPP last year, Equiniti has been running at a rapid pace. The move to Thurso Business Park will grow the company’s capabilities, and help support the future expansion of its Caithness workforce.

Julie McGee, senior development manager at HIE’s Caithness and Sutherland area team, said:

“We are delighted to support Equiniti in moving to Thurso Business Park. The move gives the team room to expand and opens up the prospect of further job creation. This is a good move for the company and good news for the local economy and for Thurso Business Park.”

Operations manager at Equiniti, Sa Campbell, said:

"As part of our growth plans, the decision to move into the excellent facilities at William Smith House on Thurso Business Park was an important one.

“Equiniti takes great pride in its Caithness links and views the move to a larger office facility as a great positive, enabling us to further develop our plans for future growth. Now that our award winning pension administration platform, Compendia Touch, is operational, the team has the opportunity to take on more contracts, in addition to the existing work. This in turn will provide   local people the opportunity to work in an environment which is continually evolving."

Over 300 people are now employed at Thurso Business Park, working for companies such as  AGM Batteries and Denchi Power, which jointly occupy Denchi House; BT Plc, which has a call centre in Alexander Bain House; and Wolfburn, which operates its whisky distillery from the park.

Limited space is available on the Business Park, with only two plots remaining; a third plot is currently under construction.

ENDS

Contact Information

HIE Communications
Senior Communications Manager
HIE
01463 383043
calum.macfarlane@hient.co.uk

Notes to editors

The land for Thurso Business Park was acquired in 1990, and was initially developed as a “High Amenity Business Estate, Thurso.” The Business Park opened in 1992 with BT as its first tenant, and was subsequently extended to the South.

About Highlands and Islands Enterprise

We’re Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Government’s economic and community development agency for a region covering more than half of Scotland, including more than 90 inhabited islands. We work with communities, enterprises, and stakeholders to unlock our region’s potential for growth and progress, while driving fair work and net zero practices.

Our purpose is to build and sustain a greener, fairer and more resilient region that benefits everyone. We offer support and investment to a wide range of projects that deliver on our priorities, which include a growing workforce, increased productivity, innovation and wages, and a just transition to net zero.

You can visit our website at http://www.hie.co.uk 
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