Facilities management group Servest has moved into new offices close to its headquarters in Bury St Edmunds as it continues to expand.

The additional space, at Vicon House in Western Way, Bury, is now home to centralised support functions including customer support, asset management, health and safety and IT that support all of the Servest’s service delivery divisions.

Around 30 staff have relocated to the new building which also provides space for the support teams to take on more staff to support the group’s ongoing strategy to become one of the top five facilities managmeent service providers in the UK, with several key acquisitions in the pipeline.

Servest, a member of the EADT/EDP Top100 listing of the 100 biggest companies in Suffolk and Norfolk, was supported by St Edmundsbury Borough Council in finding the new premises, in recognition of the the group’s plans to create new jobs. The council’s economic development team put Servest in touch with the landlords of Vicon House, which is close to the council’s own headquarters at West Suffolk House.

Alaric Pugh, St Edmundsbury council’s portfolio holder for economic growth, said: “We have a strong track record of working withbusinesses large and small, to help them achieve their plans for growth, new jobs and increased prosperity in our area.

“I am extremely proud that our economic development team was able to move swiftly to help Servest find the premise they required, and to ensure that the new jobs that they create will be in the borough, and not elsewhere.”

Rob Legge, Servest chief executive for the UK and Europe, said: “Expanding into the new premises at Vicon House in Western Way has been vital given Servest’s growth strategy.

“There are several key acquisitions in the pipeline and it is of real strategic importance that wehave the support teams in place to effectively support our customers and all of the Servest divisions.

“It has been a real pleasure working with St Edmundsbury Borough Council, which takes such an active interest in supporting locally-based businesses.

“We look forward to creating new jobs on site, further supporting the local economy, as we continue to grow the Servest business.”

Servest, whose parent company is based in South Africa, already employs more than 16,000 people at more than 6,000 sites across the UK, delivering value-for-money solutions to clients in the retail, leisure, public, commercial, construction, transport and logistics sectors, on a bundled or integrated basis to suit clients’ needs.

Its operations span a comprehensive range of facilities management, including building services, catering, cleaning, consumables, energy management, grounds maintenance, internal landscaping, pest control, security, washroom services and waste management.

Earlier this summer, Servest was ranked in 48th place in the Sunday Times PA Consulting Inward Investment Track 50, a new listing of the UK’s 50 largest overseas-owned employers.