invest north east england

Monday 1st February

A leading Indian business software company is moving to Sunderland to take advantage of the North East’s software expertise. 5th Generation Technologies produce business intelligence tools for companies in a number of areas including manufacturing and retail.

The Chennai-based firm will employ up to 25 people and decided to set up in Sunderland after being contacted during a campaign by One North East’s Inward Investment team to promote Sunderland Software City to Indian software firms. The firm will receive a £200,000 GBI grant from One North East to support the development of new products in the North East.

The company, who have been named as one of 50 Indian technology firms to watch by technology group Nasscom, plan to use Sunderland’s Evolve software business centre as their European base and are keen to export the software they develop in the North East into new markets across the continent as the business grows.

Despite the recession, the worldwide appetite for Business Intelligence platforms, analytic applications and performance management software in 2008 increased 21.7% on the previous year, from $7.2bn to $8.8bn.

Sunderland Software City was created to encourage the growth of the region’s software industry and provides firms with support for marketing, business development and sales as well as access to HR, legal and accountancy services to help them get established.

“We are extremely excited about our investment in the North East”, said Dr. Ananth Seshan, Chairman and Managing Director of 5G.

“When One North East contacted us it was quite timely in that we were looking at various options to start our operations in the UK to expand our European footprint. Being an Intellectual Property focussed organisation, we were attracted to the native talent pool that was available in the North East from five top class engineering schools, a world-class infrastructure that was second to none, and the overall lower cost of operations in comparison to the other places we had short-listed.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the speed at which we were able to set up our operations, which would not have been possible without the tremendous support of One North East.”
Alan Clarke, Chief Executive at One North East, said: “We are delighted that 5G has decided to make North East England its European base.

“The inward investment team at One North East, Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Software City have worked closely with 5G to help bring the company to the North East.
“There is growing interest from India in the commercial opportunities provided by Sunderland Software City and North East England. The investment by 5G will hopefully act as a catalyst for further Indian software firms to establish their business in the region.”

David Dunn, chief operating officer at Sunderland Software City, said: “It’s fantastic that the region is being recognised as an ideal place for software companies to locate, whether the companies are from overseas locating their European bases here or they are UK companies setting up or expanding here.”

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader at Sunderland City Council, said “The arrival of this company is excellent news for Sunderland. The city council is a key partner in the Sunderland Software City initiative and we are determined to make Sunderland a global location for software businesses and to create new job opportunities for the people of the city.

“The fact that a successful IT company from India has chosen Sunderland to locate its new operation in the UK, again demonstrates that Sunderland is a prime location for successful businesses of all sectors. We wish 5G every success in the city and they can be assured of the continued support of the City Council and its Sunderland Software City partners.”
Over half the Indian companies that have invested in North East England have expanded in the last six years. Research shows 55% of Indian investments in the region since 2003 have gone on to complete expansion projects after basing their operations here.

There are now 15 Indian companies in North East England including businesses such as Shasun, MSSL, Nicholas Piramal and Tech Mahindra, and employ over 1500 people in the region.

The region is already home to leading digital firms including Sage, Leighton Group, Euthechnyx and Mere Mortals.