A LEADING IT firm is preparing to take over a growing business park in Hayes – and could create thousands of jobs there in the next five years.

Web hosting and cloud computing company Rackspace has revealed its intention to move into one of two new 10,000 square metre office blocks being built at Hyde Park Hayes (HPH) in Millington Road, Hayes – to be known as HPH4 and HPH5 – potentially creating a ‘Rackspace campus’ and expanding its headquarters.

A Rackspace spokeswoman said that while nothing was concrete yet, the plans would be finalised next year, and that it was ‘an exciting time for Hayes’, with Crossrail and the consent given to The Old Vinyl Factory mixed use development nearby.

Mike Langan, chairman of the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, said: “With the likes of Nestle downsizing, it is good that Hayes has a growing company like Rackspace, which is already one of the largest employers in the area.”

The company is already based at Hyde Park Hayes, occupying the existing HPH1 block and a floor of HPH2, and has agreed the terms of a pre-let agreement in place for the larger HPH5 building, as well as a four-year ‘call option’ to lease HPH4 at an agreed future price.

There are currently more than 1,000 employees on the site, and the company is said to be growing by a staggering 30 per cent each year in turnover and staff.

At that rate, they will create an estimated 3,000 more skilled jobs in the next five years, making them one of the largest private employers in the Thames Valley area. The two office blocks would double the current available office space at the park.

Site owners, Melford Capital Partners, say they consulted with Rackspace while designing HPH5 so it would meet its specific future needs.

The lettings would ensure that Rackspace stay for at least 10 years, which would ‘entrench their commitment to Hayes’, and ‘help create jobs, and activity that will support the wider regeneration of the town’, said Ludo Mackenzie, of Melford Capital Partners, in a letter to the council revealing Rackspace’s interest in the site.

Permission to proceed with the expansion was granted at last Thursday’s central and south planning committee meeting, with all councillors voting unanimously in favour.

Now it just needs signing off by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority before construction can start.