Online gambling firm bet365 is to open a technology office in Manchester and is looking to recruit 50-70 people.
The company鈥檚 first satellite office in the city鈥檚 Spring Gardens will support its software development teams based in Stoke-on-Trent.
bet365, the world鈥檚 largest online betting firm, chose Manchester for its expansion because of its reputation as a tech hub and excellent links to the north of England.
鈥淢anchester was the obvious choice for establishing a blueprint for our growth. It has a superb technology culture,鈥� said Dom Hawley, head of software development.
鈥淲e’ve found exceptional people in Stoke but it’s clear that we now need to expand our operation outside of the local area to grow our development teams further.鈥�
New starters will work on bet365鈥檚 back office trading applications, User Interface, middleware and web development for its sports and gaming products.
The new office鈥檚 systems development head Warren Hughes told the Manchester Evening News: 鈥淭he recruitment in Manchester has started off extremely positive and is already proving to be a location that can offer us highly skilled software development professionals who are passionate about technology.
鈥淭his is not going to be an unstructured group of remote workers engaged in autonomous tasks.
鈥淭hey will be a fully integrated part of the bet365 business.鈥�