Scott Logic moves to new HQ in Newcastle Helix

18 May 2022 Consultancy.uk

Software consultancy Scott Logic has sought to build on strong demand by moving to a new headquarters. Based in the Lumen building – home to the Newcastle Helix business initiative – the new locale will help the firm boost its sustainability drives, as well as equipping it for hybrid working.

Newcastle Helix is a partnership between Newcastle City Council, Legal & General and Newcastle University. The 24-acre development brings together industry leaders, businesses, and top researchers into an international renowned innovation cluster. It is an exemplar sustainable urban development which combines prestigious commercial and residential space with first class research and education facilities. This development will eventually create more than 4,000 jobs, 500,000 square feet of office and research space and 450 new homes.

Based in Newcastle, with hubs in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Glasgow and Copenhagen, Scott Logic employs more than 400 people. The software consultancy provides a range of technology services, including architecture and technical strategy, software development, and data engineering, helping clients to address an array of digital challenges. Clients include organisations like the DWP, NHS Digital and NatWest.

Gary Scott (l) and Steve Foreshew-Cain (r)

Scott Logic joins the Helix project as it looks to support long-term growth plans, focus on sustainability and sets the company up for a new era of hybrid working. One of the largest 100 businesses in the North East, the consultancy has been on a sharp growth curve over the past few years.

Steve Foreshew-Cain, CEO, Scott Logic, stated, “We are embedded within North East communities and committed to future talent development, from close ties with Newcastle University and Durham University, where we fund scholarships for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, to the continued expansion of our graduate hiring programme in Newcastle.”

Within the Helix complex, Scott Logic will now take up residence in the Lumen. A building with an EPC A rating, the Lumen achieves the LETI 2025 target of whole lifecycle embodied carbon, providing extensive facilities to support cycling into work, with heating, cooling and electricity supplied by the innovative District Energy Centre. The new office within the building is also designed for the modern tech worker and hybrid working, with a significantly different ratio between desks, collaboration facilities, and socialising spaces, all designed for particular purposes, from interviews and calls, to team working and collaborative workshops.

“We have locations all over the UK, but our HQ will always be in Newcastle,” added Gary Scott, chairman and founder, Scott Logic. “It’s important to us to remain an active participant in the North East community, and I can't think of a better place than Newcastle Helix for us to be based as we continue our growth over the coming years. The Lumen’s green credentials also fit perfectly with our Net Zero commitments, so it feels like the perfect HQ for Scott Logic.”

The firm works primarily with organisations in financial services, investment banking and the public sector – all areas which will rely heavily on digital solutions for a future recovery from the current crisis. This has buoyed demand, leading to a number of high-profile contract wins – such as the Scottish Government handing Scott Logic a contract to help boost the nation’s digital identity programme.