Halo HQ staff log on from new Willis Building home
Halo moves into the Willis Building on Monday with ambitions to create 5,000 jobs in 10 years.
Halo HQ staff log on from new Willis Building home
The Willis Building remains revolutionary, according to its designer Lord Norman Foster
A technology company founder says relocating to the centre of Ipswich will help turn the town into a "start-up incubator" that retains young talent in the county.
Halo is shifting its headquarters to the Willis Building, a Grade I listed glass office block designed by Lord Norman Foster, while insurance firm Willis - now known as WTW - will keep a smaller presence there.
Founder Paul Hamilton told the BBC that staff will begin working from the building on Monday, with 250 people expected to be based there by the end of the year.
"This move reinstates our commitment to the region, and ambition to make Ipswich a tech hub," he said, adding that the firm wanted "to respect a historic and iconic building".
He says the company aims to "create 5,000 jobs in 10 years".
The Willis Building is seen as a local landmark and one of the most "revolutionary" office buildings in Suffolk.
It marked its 50th anniversary last year after first being built for the insurance company.
Founder Paul Hamilton says he wants to "hit our target of 1,000 graduates in Ipswich by the end of 2030"
Valued at an estimated £1bn, Halo is a global software company that develops IT service management and workflow platforms used by major organisations including Microsoft and Red Bull.
The company concentrates its hiring on graduates, with the average employee age around 24.2 years.
Hamilton said the move to the Willis Building was a "huge next step" and gave the company "the capability to expand further and hit our target of 1,000 graduates in Ipswich by the end of 2030".
"We are looking forward to working alongside WTW after the incredible 50 years they've had in the building so far," he said.
Its yellow and green interior forms part of the building's Grade I listing, and Hamilton believes it helps create a distinctive working environment.
Halo originally had two offices in Stowmarket but will keep one of them open.
Last year, the software firm took over from Ed Sheeran as the main sponsor of Ipswich Town's football shirts.
Jack Abbott, Labour MP for Ipswich, had earlier said the move was "massive" for the town and represented "our economic rejuvenation".
The building has also served as a backdrop for several charity sculpture trails, including the Elmer one in 2019.