Just Eat boss pledges 'not just jobs but real careers' in £100million Sunderland investment

The firm has confirmed today it is to invest more than £100million in transforming the former npower offices in Rainton Bridge into a new base.

UK managing director Andrew Kenny said the company was delighted to be establishing a new centre on Wearside. “We understand very much the importance of creating career opportunities outside London and the South East of England and so we are delighted that this move has given us this opportunity to support employment in the North East,” he said.

“We spent considerable time over the past 12 months evaluating various options right across the UK and we found a state-of-the-art facility big enough to house our operational centre not only today but as we look to future proof our growth in the coming years, as well as as a strong talent pool.

“We are hugely excited that we can create not just jobs but real careers in the long term in a part of the country that needs support.

"We worked very closely with the local authority and leaders in the region with the aim of ensuring the move does have maximum benefit on the local economy and community.

“I spoke recently to Sunderland City Council and I think both sides are extremely excited about what we can achieve and meaningfully contribute to the area, not only to help lower unemployment but more widely in the community.”

The Mackem lilt had also been part of the appeal: “The research does show that the North East accent is generally acknowledged as one of the friendliest, so we are confident that will translate into a great customer experience,” said Andrew.

“We kicked off the hiring in May and we already from the roles we have created in Sunderland, we are seeing a very material increase in customer satisfaction scores, which is hugely encouraging.

“We are providing employees not only with a highly competitive salary for the region but also access to a host of benefits from private healthcare to enhanced pensions to daily allowances to order food on the Just East platform.

"It’s important to say the benefits we are providing to employees are the equivalent that a similar employee would have working out of our London head office.

“We will have a gym and a wellness centre, spin studios, yoga studios, great restaurants, great spaces and we are very focused om providing a bespoke and very comprehensive training programme for every employee.”

Staff will initially work from home, then the firm will move to a hybrid working model. “We hope to have people in the office in very early 2022,” said Andrew.

“We will continue to hire all the way through.

“We are investing millions of pounds into the fitting out of the building to ensure it is a state-of-the-art facility and ready to deliver best-in-class customer and restaurant support.

"It is a £100million investment over the next five years, so it is very much a long-term commitment.”

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