After creating 100 new jobs in Leeds, language services provider thebigword has invested further in the city by buying a new building to accommodate the increase in staff.
The business, which has created the new jobs after winning a £120m interpreting and translation contract with the Ministry of Justice, has bought the Orion building close to its Link Up House headquarters on the ring road to create more than 100 new car parking spaces for staff.
Under the major new deal with the Ministry of Justice, thebigword has also recruited more than 3,000 linguists to provide interpreters and translators to courts, tribunals, prisons, the probation service and other organisations in the justice sector, such as CPS and Police forces.
The major expansion in jobs at thebigword follows a string of contract wins, including a £60m deal to provide language services to a wealth of Government departments, and now means more than 500 people are employed by the company in Leeds.
thebigword will now invest further in the Orion building to develop the site and create more car parking facilities.
Chief executive of thebigword, Larry Gould, says: “We are an international company and have offices around the world. However, we are proud to be headquartered in Leeds. Leeds has been a fantastic source of talent for us over the years and it’s fantastic to be able to invest more in the city.
“The knowledge, enthusiasm and passion of our people in Leeds has been instrumental in the continued growth of thebigword and this investment is a further demonstration of our commitment to the city.
“The recent wins have been fantastic for the business, but we still have big ambitions. We’ve been in Leeds for more than 30 years and know we can rely on this city and region to deliver the people and skills we need to realise those ambitions.
“I’m hugely proud of our people and this city and we remain committed to investing further in them both in the months and years to come.”
thebigword has 11 offices around the world, employs more than 600 staff and has more than 11,000 linguists.
Its innovative technology can identify and connect people to the appropriate interpreter in more than 250 languages in under 30 seconds. thebigword handles 1,000,000 minutes of telephone interpreting a month and 17,000 face to face meetings, as well as half a billion words of translation.
