Allpay Ltd has invested £3m in a new state-of-the-art facility at its Hereford-based head office following substantial expansion plans. The new build will follow the opening of two brand new office locations in Westminster, London and Cheltenham, creating 50 new jobs.
Processing over 50 million transactions and handling over £4.5 billion each year, allpay is a leading technology business focusing on payment collection services and plastic card manufacturing. Growth markets, including central government, are driving the organisation's expansion, and allpay has already won some significant deals providing payment collection services and card services. The new state-of-the-art bureau and card production facility, due to be fully operational by June 2014 will see an influx of the latest card manufacturing machinery which, will double the current capacity of card production.
allpay's new office location in Westminster, London, will enable the firm to further embed itself within central government departments, while providing a convenient environment to facilitate client meetings and industry-related events. Also, to ensure allpay's technical infrastructure continues to provide a secure, flexible and resilient platform, the company is also investing in a new office in Cheltenham. The location will house an additional agile software development team and is currently recruiting for 20 IT staff.
Marshall Haldane, Operations Director explains how the investment will help develop the business, saying: "This current round of investment ensures the delivery of enhanced products and services for our current clients and enables us to continue winning new business. The new teams will be in addition to the 250-strong workforce already in Hereford, and again solidifies our continued expansion plans, contribution to the UK economy and pioneering approach in both the payment collection and card services industries."
Pierre Galeon, Corporate and Commercial Development Director at allpay, said: "In the last six months, allpay has won over 20 new business contracts with a range of global organisations across both the payments and card services businesses. The investment will see our market growth continue, and enable us to improve our services to existing clients, both of which I am very excited about."
allpay was formed in 1996 by current owner and managing director, Tony Killeen as a bill payment collection specialist. Over the last 18 years, allpay has continually grown year-on-year and diversified into different industries and markets. On the payment collection element of the business, each allpay client has a specific configuration of multiple payment services based on individual requirements, from cash collection via nationwide Post Office and PayPoint outlets through to pre-paid cards and cashless technology using advanced biometric facilities. These services cover a range of sectors including central government departments, social housing, education, credit unions and debt collection.
allpay is also a well-established manufacturer of plastic cards accredited by MasterCard® and Visa with a growing global client base. With secure production facilities in Hereford, allpay provides a fully managed fulfilment service for credit and debit cards to prepaid, transit and ID cards.
In addition to the payments and card services businesses, the allpay group of companies includes broadband, legal services, print and design and Rude Wines, an innovative new wine club launched in 2013.