Global WiFi software company Purple has opened its new office at Annie Kenney Mill in Chadderton, Oldham, as the business cements its UK base ahead of an ambitious international growth programme.
The opening marks the next phase of a strategy that has already seen Purple grow into a business operating across 80,000 venues in multiple countries, achieve recognition as a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services and post over £1m in profit.
The choice of location is significant for Purple; Annie Kenney, after whom the mill is named, was an Oldham born suffragette and one of the few working-class women at the heart of the movement.
The building's environmental credentials were an important part of the initial search - an EPC rating of A, photovoltaic solar panels and electric vehicle charging points also sit well with how Purple operates as a certified BCorp.
Manchester's economy is forecast to grow at around 2.1% a year between 2025 and 2028, ahead of the UK average, with much of that growth driven by the tech and professional services sectors.
Having established a city-wide WiFi model with Newcastle City Council, the first deployment of its kind combining seamless public connectivity with real-time analytics across an entire city, Purple is now pursuing similar partnerships with cities across the UK and internationally.
The target is for 60% of revenue to be generated outside the UK within the next three years.
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple, said: "The return to hybrid working and our office location is the next step in a story that has already seen us establish a network of over 80,000 venues, lead a city-scale deployment in Newcastle that is now the blueprint for how public Wi-Fi should work, and a platform that gives organisations from independent businesses to global retailers the kind of connectivity and insight that simply was not available before.
"The professional world continues to evolve from a remote working model and we're excited to bring our teams back together under a hybrid working model, which offers the best of both worlds - flexibility and in person connection. It means we'll be able to build closer relationships with each other, stronger trust across our teams and learn from each other through real time collaboration."
The office has run Purple's own staff WiFi product from day one, replacing shared passwords with secure, automatic access that connects through each person's company identity and updates itself as people join or leave the business.
Wheeldon added: "The technology in this office works on the same principle as everything else we build. Whether someone is walking into a shop, sitting in a restaurant, moving through a city or arriving at their desk, WiFi should connect automatically and securely. That is the world we are building, and this office is part of it."
