Technology services provider Sogeti is opening a new office in Leeds, creating 40 jobs.The company, which is part of the Capgemini group, said the move is part of an expansion plan to expand the UK reach of its professional services offering to more firms in the north of England.

It will be the company’s first venture in Yorkshire with its other bases in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.

The firm will be based at Yorkshire House on Greek Street in the centre of Leeds. It is officially opening the office next week and intends to hire 40 new employees to be based there by the end of next year.

Sogeti said it will have a “particular focus” on hiring quality engineering and testing workers and specialists delivering cloud, applications solutions and Microsoft services.

Cassy Calvert will run the new Sogeti office in Leeds

The announcement has been deliberately timed to coincide with the Leeds Digital Festival and Cassy Calvert, hub director at Sogeti in the UK, said the city was an obvious choice for its new Northern base.

Ms Calvert, who herself is originally from Yorkshire, said: “We looked at several other cities as well. But in the end it was a clear choice because Leeds has got such a great reputation as a digital and technical powerhouse.

"It is a thriving business scene. We’ve got amazing universities in the surrounding areas generatinga lot of really good talent and Leeds is just thriving with a lot of investment.

"The end goal is to serve local clients with local people.

"I’m excited about it because it is a city I have worked in for a long time and I know a lot of people here. We want to see where we can extend that business out from the London market.”

The new location will also be used to support Capgemini’s long-standing partnership with UK-based non-profit Code Your Future – an organisation that trains refugees and other disadvantaged people to become IT specialists and helps them to find work in the tech industry.

As well as offering the office as the base for one of Code Your Future’s upcoming classes, Sogeti will be supplying volunteers to support the Code Your Future team and running homework clubs with the students during the week.

In addition, the new location will enable UK charity AbilityNet to expand its digital assistance network to Leeds. AbilityNet’s community-based volunteer network helps individuals with any disability, of any age, to use digital technology. Previously there were no volunteers based in Leeds. The opening of the new Sogeti office will change this, with members of the team ready to start volunteering.

Technology services provider Sogeti to open Leeds office - bringing 40 new jobs to city