A NORTH East company which works with estate agents and property portals globally is planning to recruit and relocate after marking 10 years in business.
Property Webmasters, based in Hartlepool, specialises in property portal and estate agent website design, development and maintenance.
It boasts a worldwide client portfolio with 80 per cent of its customers located outside of the UK – including the USA, Australia, Asia, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Mainland Europe, and the Middle East.
Recently, the firm completed a makeover of a property portal site in Thailand, which then went on to be sold for $11m.
Set up by director Jamie Arthur in 2006, after he spotted a gap in the market, the business has steadily grown to a team of seven employees, which includes graphic designers, web developers, a project manager, and salesperson.
Now, after celebrating the 10 th birthday of his firm, based on Queens meadow Business Park, 36-year- old Jamie has outlined ambitious plans for the future.
These include the initial recruitment of a further three employees with potential for further staff expansion later in the year, and also the purchase of the company’s own premises preferably in Jamie’s home town of Hartlepool.
Jamie said: “It is testament to the hard work and commitment of myself and the team that the business has reached its 10 th birthday.
“When I look back over the last decade, it is amazing to see how the company has grown, both in terms of clients and of staff.
“We are fortunate enough to work with thousands of estate agents globally helping them to build professional websites which generate inquiries, and we have seen some real successes.
“One in particular was a property portal in Asia which we designed and developed, before it was sold for $11m.”
The married dad-of- one added: “We’re a talented, hard-working team and we intend to keep pushing forward to achieve the ambitious targets I’ve put in place for 2017.
“We are recruiting for three new staff members currently, an Account Manager, Digital Marketer and a Sales Person, with the aim of boosting the team further later in the year.
“We are also looking to buy our own premises which will give us more space to expand, but we are planning to stay in Hartlepool.
“I was born and raised in Hartlepool. It’s good to do something positive in your home town.”
Property Webmasters recently launched a ‘subscription processing model’ for clients, which offers affordable set-up and monthly fees to pay for website support, hosting and general feed management.
The aim is to have 1,000 customers subscribed by 2022.