Now the leading UK retail recruitment consultancy, Imagine was established in January 2001 with just three directors and a business support team. With year-on-year growth averaging around 80%, and staffing levels rising to 35 and still growing, Imagine needed to find new offices in a dynamic commercial environment that would accommodate future growth, attract high quality personnel and, importantly, make it easy for them to get to the office and beneficial to stay.
Middlebrook has met all criteria and more. As Nick Evans, director of Imagine, says, ìMiddlebrook has enjoyed a high profile over the last couple of years. On the sports front it is home to the Reebok stadium and Bolton Arena, which hosted the badminton events of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and in the commercial field it boasts names such as Hitachi and the Royal Mail, to name but few. Added to this, the development has a thriving retail base, with many household names, such as Tesco, Comet and Currys all choosing the site for large stores; this keeps us close to the grass roots of our client base.î
Imagine is now experiencing the benefits of these and its own strategy of a ëone-officeí concept to manage its brand image, which their clients see as having the best processes, methods and placement ratios in the business. The move therefore offers considerable benefits to clients ñ all major blue-chip market leaders in the retail arena ñ as the company is a high user of new technology to deliver its services to both clients and jobseekers. Ease of access to the Middlebrook site has allowed the company to recruit and retain its own high quality staff and, since the company moved there in October 2003, it has seen a growth in team spirit due to the ease of accessibility of the offices without having to travel into a city centre.
The largest integrated and sustainable employment, leisure, sports and retail scheme in the country, the Middlebrook development lies at the heart of Bolton EDZ, covering almost 81 hectares of land just off the M61 motorway at Junction 6. With good bus, rail and air links to the area, combined with extensive parking facilities on site, companies relocating to Middlebrook are able to recruit staff from a wide area, reaching well into Lancashire, Cheshire and the Greater Manchester conurbation. Local training facilities are also varied and extensive.
Sites and relocation opportunities within Bolton Economic Development Zone are marketed through the private / publication partnership, Bolton WIDE. Further information is available from Simon Godley on tel: 01204 336141, email: info@thinkbolton.co.uk or from the website at
Bolton EDZ right climate for Imagine
Relocating to Bolton Economic Development Zone (EDZ) has provided Imagine Recruitment Ltd with an excellent transport infrastructure, a quality local workforce, and space to grow at their new headquarters in Aspinall House on the Middlebrook development