Business of the Year entrant – Fifteen Group
A Stoke-on-Trent technology company has broken through the £5 million turnover mark for the first time and has ambitious plans to double its turnover to £10 million in five years.
Fifteen Group, based on Park Hall Business Village, is also celebrating a milestone 18th birthday this year and is investing £500,000 in new premises.
Founded in 2006, the company specialises in IT, communications, software development and fire and security systems and started out with just four staff. It now employs a team of 50 with plans to recruit further.
Under the leadership of its four directors, Ian Walker, Mark Adams, Rob Adams and Martin Graham, the company has also continued to secure further big-name clients.
Fifteen Group already provides IT, communications, telecoms, fire and security/intruder alarms, as well as digital signage and digital menu boards to a number of huge international retail brands including Costa, Taco Bell, Dunkin and KFC.
The company is relocating to bigger premises in Hanley later this year. The move coincides with the launch of their new digital signage brand, Signatech Group. It focusses on the manufacture, content management and supply of digital signage screens across the world with full support also offered from its Staffordshire base.
Director Ian Walker said: “We pride ourselves on our customer focussed approach. We offer a range of services and products but understand the franchises we work with all have different requirements and we shape our services around them to ensure they get exactly what they needed to the highest of standards.
“Our continued and sustained growth is not only down to that approach but also down to the hard work and dedication of our team whose skills and expertise are second to none.
“The last 12 months have been fantastic for us – to have our highest turnover in the year we celebrate our 18th birthday is a great achievement. We’ve had some brilliant client wins and are looking to strengthen our market position with the retail sector to help us grow further.”
Ian added: “Our main focus now is to continue on an upwards trajectory and to achieve a £10 million turnover within the next five years. It’s an exciting time for Fifteen Group – we are adding to our client base all the time, widening our geographical reach and are looking forward to moving into new premises later this year. It will be a brand-new start for us and I am sure will be a catalyst for further growth in the future.”
As Fifteen Group continues to grow, it is keen to give back to the community. Staff regularly hold fundraising events for charities including the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. They are also working closely with Port Vale and the Street Soccer Foundation to help launch and sponsor the Port Vale Street Soccer Academy which will start in the autumn.
Fifteen Group has entered the Business of the Year category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.