Infoserve to take on staff as business grows (From The Northern Echo)

Infoserve to take on staff as business grows

8:40am Thursday 17th December 2009

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AN online search company is to take on more staff as it looks forward to continuing growth next year.

Infoserve, which employs more than 200 people in Darlington, yesterday said it was looking to take on 50 staff in the town during the first two months of next year.

It wants to recruit an additional 25 sales personnel next month, with a similar further intake in February.

The company, which provides small and mediumsized businesses with a web presence, yesterday released interim figures for the six months to September, which continued several years of steady growth.

Turnover rose to £2.95m, up from £2.64m for the same period last year.

Gross profit was £0.99m up from £0.84m last year and its loss before tax had decreased to £0.20m, down from £0.61m last year.

Chief executive Steve Barnes said: “That has continued for three years and I would like to think the trend is going to continue.

“We are lucky we are in an exciting market sector.

“All businesses of all sizes know they have to be found online.

“We are in the right place at the right time.”

Although clients in sectors such as mortgage advice had declined in the recession, the number of customers was growing in other fields, Mr Barnes said.

He added: “The other side of the coin is driving schools.

“Name anyone between 17 and 20 who would do anything except go online to look something up.

Ninety-five per cent of those searches are going to be online.”

Last month the company, which has deals with Google and Yahoo, announced it would stop acting as an authorised reseller for Google AdWords on January 7.

Resellers are authorised to set up accounts for businesses which want to post adverts in Google’s search results.

Yesterday Mr Barnes said the decision would have no affect on either Infoserve’s revenues or its good relationship with Google.

He said: “We continue to work with them, it just suited both parties at the time and we will continue to sell AdWords for them.”

Mr Barnes was also very positive about the company’s prospects for next year.

He said: “We are looking forward to a very positive year.

“We are a business to business company, so we are a good barometer of the feeling of businesses out there.

“We have had a good 12 months and we are still growing.

“ I think next year will be better than this year, but not a huge surge with the economy bouncing back, I think it is going to be a slow burner.”

The company, launched in 1999, moved its call and sales centre to Darlington’s Morton Palms in 2006.

Internet advertising last year was worth more than £2.7bn and is forecast to continue that dramatic growth for at least the next five years.

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