A COMPUTER management firm has hailed their recent expansion as a major step forward.

Resilient Business Systems, based at Business Central in Darlington, has upgraded from the business centre’s co-working lounge by taking on a fixed office space in the centre.

Established in 2005, Resilient Business Systems – which is also the official IT partner of Business Central – is run by husband and wife duo, Andrew and Michelle Read.

The firm provides IT support to a variety of small to medium-sized businesses in the North-East and beyond.

And they pride themselves on being able to form long-lasting relationships with their clients to not only mitigate risks to computer infrastructure, but to make sure their clients understand why an issue occurred in the first place, and what they can do to prevent it happening in the future.

Now with a total of four members of staff on board, Mr Read felt it was time to expand the business in a familiar environment and capitalise on the economic climate in Darlington.

“The office move was born out of necessity,” said Mr Read.

“We needed more room to house our staff.

“And having been part of the co-working lounge at Business Central, we were already aware of the great family feel within the centre and we’re confident it’s the right place to base ourselves and grow further.

“Additionally, with the regeneration taking place in Darlington, I feel we have a great opportunity to succeed. The business sector in Darlington is buoyant at the moment and a lot of small businesses are benefitting from the town’s regeneration.”

On the back of their growth, Mr Read has taken a level-headed approach to how they will operate on the back of the expansion.

“We’d like to think that the expansion will allow us to recruit additional members of staff as we attract more clients, but the initial goal is to carry on doing what we’re doing.

“The focus has to be on maintaining the strong relationships we have built with our clients and to continue enjoying the work we do, and – all being well – we can then look at taking on extra office space within Business Central.”

Business Central is a business centre in Darlington’s Central Park Enterprise Zone.

Built in 2015, it is managed by the North-East Business and Innovation Centre, which is based in Sunderland.

It has 60 office suites and a further 20 co-working spaces, creating workplaces for businesses across the town.