German consultancy bdg has expanded its UK footprint, with the addition of its second office in the East of England. Having already launched an office in Peterborough at the turn of the year, bdg is now rolling out a locale in Norwich.
Originating from Germany, bdg (which stands for better decisions group) is a consulting firm specialised in corporate performance management and business intelligence. A long-standing partner of various providers of business intelligence software such as Jedox, Board and SAP, it works for a range of household named like Siemens, KFC, JDWilliams, 1&1 and Zalando.
Over the past decade, bdg had delivered more than a dozen projects in the UK, and as it mooted European expansion last year, the firm saw Britain as its natural first step. Led by bdg’s UK Head, Tom Owen, the firm’s first office on UK shores opened in Peterborough in late 2021, with support from “fly-in teams” from Germany while it built capacity.
Half-a-year on, bdg has decided the time is right to accelerate its UK growth campaign, with another location. This time, the firm has opened doors in East Anglia’s largest city, Norwich.
According to Owen, who will oversee the growth of the second hub, opening an office in Norwich was “an easy decision” as it will strengthen the firm’s pre-existing relationship with the University of East Anglia – giving it opportunities to recruit its alumni, and make use of employment events and mentoring services with the university.
So far, bdg has recruited around 16 professionals in the UK team. Eventually the firm aims to have a team of around 10 people working in Norwich, as well as opening other hubs across the country with Cambridge, Manchester and Edinburgh on the shortlist.
Owen added, “Over the last two years the firm has continued to deliver a high number of projects in the UK and Germany. With the ever-changing nature over the past two-year period we have changeable and dynamic work practices to suit our client and staff requirements… Now with two offices in the UK this allows us to continue to deliver high quality work for our clients and ensure that we can continue to attract talent and continue to grow and develop our team.”
As a key hub in the East of England, with a leading university, Norwich is home to offices of many of the professional services industry’s biggest names, including all of the Big Four. Greater Norwich boasts an extensive and varied leisure and culture offer. The tourism sector is worth £3 billion and the visitor economy – but it also boasts a historic financial services segment, as the original home of insurance giant Aviva’s British wing; previously known as Norwich Union.
