Sponge goes from strength to strength with new Bristol office
Leading digital learning firm Sponge has announced its latest expansion, with the opening of a new office in Bristol. It brings to five, the number of bases the company now has across the UK and Ireland.
Sponge says it chose Bristol for its new office because of the city’s reputation as a thriving digital and creative hub, and the availability of skilled employees. According to the Office for National Statistics and the 2018 Tech Nation report, Bristol tops the UK chart for productivity in the digital tech sector.
Sponge is among the largest custom digital learning companies in Europe and has won multiple industry awards for its creativity and innovation in using new technologies to provide workplace learning solutions. Clients include Coca-Cola, BMW, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Royal Mail, AstraZeneca, Specsavers, and AXA.
The new office at CityPoint in Temple Gate is currently advertising for learning designers, project managers and developers.
Louise Pasterfield, founder and managing director at Sponge, said: “When we were looking for a new location to expand into, we were immediately drawn to what Bristol has to offer. It has been named as a globally significant tech cluster and it is home to a number of world-class creative companies.
“Bristol aligns completely with how we work at Sponge. We use creativity and innovation to help people learn and grow and to help businesses succeed. We are very much looking forward to growing our presence here in the years to come.”
"Bristol aligns completely with how we work at Sponge."
Established in 2004, Sponge is headquartered in Plymouth and also has offices in London, Nottingham and Dublin – the latter two were opened in December 2017 and January this year.
The company has grown significantly from a turnover of £1.9m in 2014 to £5.2m in 2017. Last year, the company’s turnover grew by 50%, allowing the creation of 40 additional jobs. Now with 110 employees, Sponge is the largest employer in custom digital learning in South West England. And the growth continues, with turnover tracking in excess of £7.5m in 2018.
As part of its ongoing expansion, Sponge is planning to increase employee numbers to 300 within the next five years and to open further offices in Europe and in the US.
It’s been a hugely successful few years for Sponge. The company won a series of top industry awards for its innovative digital learning programme for insurance brand AXA, and Sponge’s Head of Innovation, Kate Pasterfield was named Learning Technologies Designer of the Year 2016-17. This year, the business was named as an outstanding company to work for by the Best Companies award scheme.