Landmark for Onyx in £50m plan

Oct 6 2009 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette

IT FIRM Onyx says its new offices will provide the springboard for its expansion into a £50m business.

The company, which is on track to achieve annual sales of £23m this year, yesterday held the official opening of its 20,000sq ft premises in Portrack, Stockton.

Onyx House will house around 40 of the company’s 109 staff. The rest are based in sites around the country including Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

Chief executive Neil Stephenson said the move from previous premises at Riverside Park was a natural step in the company’s development.

He said: “The new facilities give us the capacity to scale the business up past the £50m mark. This journey has only just begun - we have much more fun in store.”

Margaret Fay , who chairs regional development agency One North East, officially declared the new premises open and praised Onyx for its contribution to the region’s £1.1bn creative and digital economy.

“Onyx is at the forefront of a digital movement that is creating jobs throughout the whole region,” she said.

She urged other firms to jump on the creative bandwagon and said “the smart use of digital technology” could add an extra £2bn a year to the regional economy.

Over the last 15 years Onyx has transformed from a regional internet service provider into a national IT firm with more than 3,000 clients.

The group has expanded rapidly on the back of a series of acquisitions, including Falkirk and Glasgow-based Campbell Lee and Dundas IT in Edinburgh. It has also seen strong organic growth and secured key overseas contracts, notably Dubai World, the owner of P&O Ferries and Legoland.