A North East IT hardware business has relocated to a new head office as it continues to expand its service offering.
BornGood, a full-service IT device management provider, has recently opened a 9,863 sq ft HQ in Houghton-le-Spring to cater for its growing portfolio of clients and future expansion plans.
The company has diversified its offering in recent years to include corporate IT asset management and device leasing. This expansion has contributed to the company’s year-on-year growth of more than 30%.
Employing 25 people, the firm already operates across the country and a new contract win with Northumbrian Water, including the company’s Essex and Sussex arm, cements BornGood’s position as a national provider.
Simon Howatson, Founder and CEO of BornGood, said: “We’re delighted to have secured our new HQ. We’ve recently picked up a number of new contracts and expanded our operations, meaning we were beginning to outgrow our previous office, but this new site will be perfect, providing us with the space we need to grow.
“We’ve been growing consistently, with turnover increasing, which has also allowed us to create new jobs and further invest in the business.
“We already operate nationwide and can service clients in all parts of the country, but we don’t want to stop there, the next step for us would be to work with global companies, providing our services beyond the UK.”
BornGood previously focussed on IT hardware disposal but having spotted opportunities to expand its service offering, the company now offers IT asset management, meaning it can procure, store and deliver equipment on behalf of businesses, also supporting device onboarding and offboarding.
The company has also launched a refurbished leasing service, enabling companies to always have up to date equipment at an affordable monthly price.
Simon said: “Our Grade A refurbished devices provide businesses with like-new technology at typically 30–50% less than the cost of buying new. Refurbished devices can also offer a reliability advantage, with typical first-year failure rates of around 3–5% compared with 5–10% for new laptops.
“A refurbished laptop can also save 190,00 litres of water, prevent two tons of earth being mined and save hundreds of kilos of CO2 compared to the purchase of a new machine. When you scale that up across a business, the sustainability benefits are huge.
“We’ve developed techniques to ensure that the devices, as well as being up to date from a software point of view, are perfectly clean and look new. These can be shipped directly to staff along with any other onboarding material businesses want them to receive. We are a true end-to-end partner.”
Alongside diversifying its commercial offering, the company has also established a CIC to allow it to provide direct benefits to the community.
BornGood has also been selected as one of just 12 organisations nationwide to become a community hub as part of Tech Rescue: Climate Action Hubs, a three-year programme led by Good Things Foundation.
It means the company will lead delivery across the North East helping to build a stronger regional network for the donation, refurbishment and reuse of unwanted technology.
Simon added: “Becoming a Good Things Foundation member has enabled us to do more work helping improve digital inclusion. We’ve delivered projects with the NHS, local authorities and charities that are directly having a positive impact of people’s lives.”
The company has received a range of support from Sunderland City Council’s Business Investment Team, including advice, guidance and introductions.
Councillor James Jackson, Cabinet Member for Business, Housing and Regeneration at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s great to see an entrepreneurial business like BornGood investing in our city and region by moving into a larger head office.
“It demonstrates that Sunderland continues to be a great place to start, grow and scale a business and I look forward to seeing how the company develops in the future.”
More information about BornGood can be found at: https://www.borngood.co.uk
For more information on Sunderland as a place to do business, visit: https://www.mysunderland.co.uk/business-and-investment
