Direct House: Office Expansion Completed
3rd December 2021
After what can only be described as a wildly tumultuous year, everyone here at Direct House is delighted to announce that our ground floor office expansion is complete: our teams have settled in well to the newly refurbished space! Our original plans for the refurbishment were put on hold due to the pandemic, but now the long-awaited project has reached completion and offers a tangible reflection of the extraordinary growth we’ve seen throughout Direct Group.
The entire downstairs office in Direct House has undergone a complete renovation; we’ve had 2 new meeting rooms freshly built and decorated, a new video conference room with modern top-of-the-range tech installed which allows us to hold both online and face-to-face meetings, a huge number of new desks and computers fitted, plus there’s a new kitchen and seating area for our staff who are now all back in the office – all in all, not a small feat!
The installation of our state-of-the-art technology in Direct House is particularly advantageous; over the course of the pandemic, we’ve had to adapt quickly and efficiently to continue to provide high-quality services to our clients, which in part meant switching to video calls and virtual meetings. Fortunately, this proved favourable for both our clients and our team: now we can continue this tailored approach with the enhanced equipment.
The pandemic also challenged us to reassess some of our other processes, and we’ve taken a significant step forward in becoming smarter and more effective with our client reporting. This has created full transparency and visibility, allowing our clients to report back to their landowners with increased efficiency. This includes further disclosing key information and variables, such as the most profitable car parks.
Not only has our expansion project benefited our internal teams, but it has also given us room to create numerous new roles and positions for ambitious individuals to join us within our various departments. We’re aiming to hire around 80 to 100 new staff, and these roles are positioned across both DCBL and DCB Legal, with a variety of senior, entry-level, and unique opportunities available.
Direct Group is providing a much-needed boost to both the local employment market and the neighbouring economy with our staff continuing to work in our head office. Progressing our increase in size will advance the high-quality services we provide as well as ultimately contribute to a smoother client journey within all areas of the companies.
DCBL are currently the largest parking enforcement debt recovery company in the UK; our early engagement and ethical approach to debt recovery mean our collection rates are 25% higher than that of our competitors. Our unique brand awareness and proficiency in protecting our clients’ reputation and maintaining strong relationships also strengthen our position as one of the most trusted debt recovery agencies in the UK.
Direct Group’s recent developments – both physical and commercial – have shone a light at the end of the covid-19 tunnel for a while now, and since the restrictions have been lifted, we’ve welcomed a significant number of new staff into our head office. We’re happy to be able to have a coffee and a face-to-face meeting with all of our colleagues and clients, and there’s no denying the benefits of being able to discuss and work with each other under the same roof!
In addition, the return to normal life means the DCBL Stadium is also open. We’ve been the stadium’s sponsor for the last few years, and we’re excited to be cheering on the Widnes Vikings from the sidelines with our team and other fans alike. We’ve not been able to visit our stadium as much as we’d hoped so we’re all enthusiastic about the future events being held there!
Last year we all faced uncertain and distressing times; with our brilliant new expansion, the increased number of staff, anticipation of new colleagues, and the ongoing growth of the companies, Direct Group is hugely optimistic and looking forward to our future.
“The goal for the DCBL team has always been to be the best, this has also resulted in us becoming the biggest”.
