Pool of local talent keeps group in region with £1m investment

Mr Gould said it would focus on the "circle" of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and York as it continued to expand. Turnover is expected to reach 40m for the 12 months to May, compared with 30m the previous year.

ThebigwordGroup was set up in 1980 and is now among the top 20 translation and interpreting firms. It has acquired a 21,000 sq ft new office block in south Leeds and plans to move there in April.

Its current base, in the Headingley area of the city, which it also owns, will then be leased out.

Mr Gould said the firm had considered moving its base to Beijing, in China, as well as Argentina, before opting for the West Yorkshire city. Forty per cent of thebigwordGroup's work is in the UK.

"Because of the economy, the availability of staff is very good. The extra cost of training people and sending them to China, and the level of work we have here and the standards of the workforce, meant it became a no-brainer," he said.

The number of "very bright people", as well as the concentration of universities in the Yorkshire region, were also reasons why the firm stayed here, Mr Gould added.

The bigword has grown on the back of a series of high-profile contracts. Its clients have included Honda, British Airways, HSBC and DLA Piper and it has a number of public sector contracts, including with the Ministry of Justice, the NHS and local authorities and the European Union and US federal agencies. It set up a government team in 1989 and currently translates across 234 languages.

The number of staff in Leeds has increased from 100 to 220 over the last three years, and the company expects to employ 300 by the end of 2010.

Mr Gould said his firm had benefited from the recession as companies affected by the slump in their own countries had looked for more overseas work. The increase in internet trading has driven demand for multilingual websites and thebigword has won government contracts for telephone interpreting services here and in the US. It has also developed the LanguageDirector language management system, which will form a key part of its technology and software development business.

"Our experience shows that a business can never stand still and there are opportunities for growth, even in a challenging world economy.

"We clearly need room for expansion and it's also vitally important for us to retain the brilliant workforce we have assembled in Leeds, so finding premises in the right location was essential," said Mr Gould.

Last October, the firm was named best company with a turnover between 10m and 50m in the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards.

It has a global network of 7,572 linguists working in 77 countries, speaking languages from German to Zulu.

Mr Gould also said the firm had not been affected so far by the tightening of government spending.

"If you are in the police or the border guard, you need to speak the language. The Government is (however] being more selective and savvy about their buying, and we hope to get more work."

HQ provides company with room to grow

As well as the headquarters of thebigwordGroup, the new office will house the company's translation services and its technology business.

There will also be a restaurant, an exercise studio and a prayer and meditation room for its workforce, which is made up of 36 different nationalities.

The 1m is being spent on technology and on refurbishing the building, which is on the outer ring road and will be re-named.

It was chosen because it is close to the city and motorways and there is room to expand further. DTZ Leeds acted on behalf of the thebigWord.

The firm has 45 staff at its interpreting centre in Clerkenwell, London, and the US operation has expanded from three people to 40.

It has also bought a 5,000 sq ft office on Broad Street in New York's financial district.

A new office will be developed in San Francisco

next month.