Software company Halo has begun operations in the iconic Willis Building in the city centre of Ipswich, in a move it announced in January.

The company said staff were due to begin working in the Norman Foster-designed building on Monday, with 250 people to be based there by the end of the year.

“This move reinstates our commitment to the region, and ambition to make Ipswich a tech hub,” said Halo founder Paul Hamilton.

Global headquarters

Privately held Halo, which says it is the UK’s second-biggest software firm and has an estimated value of £1 billion, was previously based in two buildings in the small Suffolk town of Stowmarket.

The company, which makes IT service management software used by clients including Microsoft and Red Bull, has long maintained a strategy of keeping its headquarters outside of major established hubs such as London, showing that significant technology businesses can operate in a regional location.

It focuses its recruitment on graduates, with the average employee age being 24.2 years.

Futuristic structures

The Grade I listed Willis Building was completed in 1975 for use by insurance firm Willis, now known as WTW, which is to maintain a smaller presence in the building.

The all-glass structure was designed by Lord Norman Foster, whose later projects include 30 St Mary Axe in London – otherwise known as the Gherkin – and Apple Park, Apple’s ring-shaped headquarters, which Apple began using in 2017.

Foster’s firm Foster+Partners is also creating the layout for buildings in Oracle’s latest headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, with detailed plans for the site submitted earlier this month.