The transformation of a period building from derelict shell into modern offices is driving the development of an emerging force in the global hospitality sector and a property company rewarded for its foresight in buying the site.
Tevalis, which supplies electronic point-of-sale and back-office solutions to international restaurant and leisure groups, is using the move into the Georgian building in Alfred Gelder Street, Hull, as a springboard for further growth.
Allenby Commercial, who moved in at the beginning of this year after completing the renovation, leased the top two floors to Tevalis but retained the ground floor and are looking forward to sharing in Hull’s City of Culture success.
In just over six years James Cook, Managing Director of Tevalis, has turned the business into a multi-million pound success story, capitalising on the good fortune of making some influential contacts and now confident enough to set ambitious targets for the future.
He said: “We founded the business in 2005 and focused on software development for the first four years. We started to see significant growth about 18 months ago with one new contract after another. Turnover is expected to exceed £2.5 million this year and we hope to add another £800,000 next year.
“We have ambitious growth based on what we are doing now and how we are doing it. We are getting to the level where we are starting to attract household name businesses with multiple sites and we are still getting the recurring revenue from existing clients.”
The success came as a result of introductions to influential industry figures including Michelin-starred chef Mark Hix and TV chef Russell Norman. Another factor was the business decision to sell software direct rather than through re-sellers.
James said: “Deals that had been worth a few hundred pounds were suddenly worth a few thousand or more. The hospitality market is just like the retail market. They need technology in their restaurants to operate to the maximum effect, getting orders from front of house to the kitchen and we are the market leader at doing that as well as managing stock control, purchase and waste.
“Whether it’s for a single site in Beverley or a multi-national business with thousands of restaurants, the management need information to hand and our web-based hosted solutions tell them when their restaurant is busy, helping them make decisions about things like staffing and rotas.”
The customer base includes Hotel Chocolat, the Historic Royal Palaces, St Andrews Links, London Zoo and an array of high-end restaurant operators. There are partner organisations operating from Dubai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur and everything is supported by the team of about 30 in Hull.
James said: “When we became aware of this site I really liked it and within a week of seeing it I signed up for it.
“It’s the best move we have made and from a recruitment point of view it’s been fantastic. We have been taking on about two staff per month for the last nine months. We are bidding for contracts worth £1 million or more. We will keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last five years but we’ll be doing it on a global scale.”
Allenby Commercial bought the building in 2014 and relocated from Hessle to support city centre investments which include offices, a new hotel project and a decorated fibre-glass moth which is part of the Amy Johnson Festival.
Charlie Allenby, the company’s Contracts Manager, said: “We bought the building from Hull City Council with the remit to bring jobs into the city centre and provide inward investment and we are proud of what we have achieved. We have attracted an innovative, growing company that employs skilled labour in the technology sector.
“We see Hull as a growth market and we want to be part of the city centre for 2017 and going forward. We all feel the benefits of the growing café culture and the transport links. We have three floors with a first floor roof garden, we have a car park at the back with nearly 50 spaces and we have a moth. It wouldn’t have been worth putting one on our old building but here we can support the Amy Johnson Festival and be part of City of Culture.”
