The shared business services arm of transport group Abellio has relaunched with the promise of new jobs and the aim of becoming the biggest single provider of joined-up business support in Scotland.
SOLVD, based at a 150-employee shared service centre in Glasgow, already provides services ranging from customer experience and contact centres to payroll, finance, HR and management information reporting for rail and bus operators across the UK.
The business has now revealed plans to expand beyond transport, targeting industries in the public and private sectors.
SOLVD turned over £7m last year, and is already in position to onboard four large-scale contracts worth in excess of £400,000 each over the next two years.
It stated that this growth will create new jobs and has committed to creating all new positions in Scotland.
Valerie Mitchell, UK managing director at SOLVD, has spent her career in senior operations roles, including at sportscotland, Livingston James Group and North Lanarkshire Leisure, as well as leading the entire workforce for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“Our experience managing back office services including finance, customer experience, and payroll for a combined 20,000 strong workforce completely sets us apart – we have operated the most complex set of systems that a business could possibly run.
“There isn’t a comparable organisation offering these services in Scotland, there are competitors who offer finance, payroll and contact centre services individually, but no one else is offering back office services as a full package to businesses in multiple different sectors.”
The SOLVD leadership team includes former KPMG Audit manager Mark Smith as head of finance; former SSE operations manager David Lumsden as head of customer experience; and Joanne Hosie, who previously managed the payroll for AGS Airports as head of payroll.
The team also includes head of business strategy and change Adrienne Garnder, a former HMRC project manager; head of HR Jen Faichney, a former group HR director at Energy Assets; and head of business support Irene Anderson, a former team lead at social enterprise The Wise Group.
SOLVD plans to grow its workforce considerably as it wins new contracts, and has committed to creating opportunities for young people through apprenticeships and schemes including Kickstarter.
The company will initially focus on growth within its core services, before eyeing expansion in new areas, including HR.
SOLVD continues to run business support services for Abellio divisions including Greater Anglia, East Midlands, West Midlands, and Abellio Bus, as well as a contract for ScotRail, which was renationalised last year.
Abellio is currently undergoing a management buyout that will place all its services under UK control.
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
