Bangor customer service centre set for major redevelopment

• BT selects Bangor as one of its key locations in Wales

• Investment in Bangor part of biggest UK workplace improvement programme

BT’s Bangor customer service centre is set for a major redevelopment as the company announced plans to invest in a large refit of the building.

The building – located in the centre of the city and opened in 1957 – will undergo a full refurbishment to modernise it and create an improved workspace for the 150 or so staff based currently at the location.

Bangor is the latest key location to be unveiled across the UK as part of the company’s ‘Better Workplace Programme’, one of the largest workplace improvement and consolidation schemes of its type ever undertaken in the UK. The five-year programme will improve and consolidate BT’s footprint of more than 300 locations to around 30, including corporate offices, contact centres and specialist sites.

Work on the Bangor refurbishment is due to start at the end of the year, for completion in early 2021.

Bangor has been chosen as a key service centre location for BT as part of this programme. The centre provides a number of bespoke services on behalf of BT such as Welsh language customer service and directory enquiries, payphone customer services and handling BT Group head office switchboard.

Staff in the Welsh language customer services team in Bangor recently marked 25 years since BT established its Welsh language policy.

Gwynedd Council leader Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn said: “It’s great news that Bangor has been chosen as a key operational location for BT. We’re pleased that a large company such as BT is investing in Bangor and modernising its office space in the centre of the city.

“This is good for skilled jobs, for the city and the wider region. Hopefully this will also be a boost to the Welsh language services provided from the centre.”

Nick Speed, BT Group’s Director in Wales, said it was an exciting development for colleagues based at the site and for Bangor.

He said: “During uncertain times for jobs and the economy, this is a real sign of BT’s continued commitment to Bangor and to Wales generally. It’s an important site for BT and a vote of confidence in the fantastic teams we have working here on a range of specialist services.

“These are skilled jobs that attract people from Bangor, Ynys Môn and across the north of Wales. We’re creating a more modern and flexible workplace, fit for the 21st century, that we hope will inspire colleagues and give them the tools and environment to be able to succeed. This is also good news for the city of Bangor and the wider region.”

Mike Cook, BT managing director of customer services, said: “Our refurbished building in Bangor will bring our people together in an impressive and modern environment, transforming the way we work.

“Excitingly, it will become a key location for BT Group in Wales. Our colleagues in Bangor will benefit from working in a future-fit office which sits in the heart of the city.”

The refurbishment will be carried out in stages, with staff able to be based in the building throughout the development. BT will work with architects, designers and staff to finalise plans for the site.

The Better Workplace Programme will see some existing BT buildings refurbished, while others will see BT move into new offices. The programme is expected to be complete by 2024. BT Group directly employs around 4,400 people in Wales. This is equivalent to one in every 10 employees working in the Welsh IT and communications sectors, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading employers. According to an independent study, BT Group generated a £900 million contribution – expressed as “Gross Value Added” (GVA)* – to the Welsh economy during the 2017/18 financial year.

Bangor joins other key locations already announced including Cardiff, Glasgow, Dundee, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol and Ipswich (Adastral Park). More announcements will follow in due course. ENDS

Notes

In November 2019, BT marked 25 years of its pioneering Welsh language policy. In 1994, BT became one of the first large private companies in the UK to adopt a voluntary bilingual policy in relation to the Welsh language, supporting the more than half a million Welsh speakers in Wales currently. See news release

BT provides Welsh language customer service helplines, including directory enquires – through teams based in Bangor – and produces bills in Welsh for those who request it.

The independent report The Economic Impact of BT Group plc in Wales is available to download. *Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of all goods and services produced in an economy. GVA combines wages and operating profits from companies and other organisations. Growing GVA can reflect improvements in workforce skills, productivity, R&D and innovation. The figures for BT show the value added directly through BT’s services and additional value generated through BT’s suppliers across the nations and regions.

About BT

BT Group is the UK’s leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.

For the year ended 31 March 2020, BT Group’s reported revenue was £22,905m with reported profit before taxation of £2,353m.

British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/about