Ant Marketing Opens Fourth UK Contact Center

While the U.S. has seen legions of contact center jobs go offshore to places offering lower costs like India and the Philippines, it's easy to forget that we're not the only nation eager to stop the flow of jobs offshore. The UK has seen a similar flight of call center jobs leave its shores, and its fed-up consumers are just as happy to see the jobs coming back.

The UK's Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, recently assisted in the opening of call center outsourcing company Ant Marketing's fourth contact center on UK soil. The £2 million facility, located in Sheffield in the north of England, is expected to create 200 new jobs over the next 12 months. With the opening of the new call center, an existing facility that was refurbished to the state-of-the-art, Ant Marketing will become one of the region's largest employers.

Customer service agents located at the new Sheffield facility will provide outbound sales and customer service for a number of prominent clients, among them British Gas.

“Ant is going from strength to strength and these 200 jobs are a big boost for Sheffield. I am always glad to see Sheffield companies grow and everyone at Ant should be very proud of their success,” said Clegg during the opening ceremony.

Anthony Hinchliffe, Chief Executive and founder of Ant, said in a press release that the area is uniquely suited to staffing the new contact center to the highest standards.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of companies outsourcing and in particular a growing demand for outbound services,” he said. “Ant is well known for its ability in this area and for delivering great results. As a customer focused business, the people we employ are the key to our success. It is a resounding endorsement of the quality of our local skills base and our business environment that we are able to undertake this expansion.”

Ant financed the new call center with help from its banking partner, Santander Corporate Banking.

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