BT Group adds more than £1bn to Yorkshire and the Humber economy - including Doncaster

The report from consultancy firm Hatch looked at the spend of employees and suppliers of BT Group – which includes EE, BT, Plusnet and Openreach – and the estimated knock-on impact that has on economies across the country.

The report found that BT Group, the UK’s largest telecommunications company which employs around 6,000 people across the Yorkshire and the Humber region, made a direct contribution to the region’s economy estimated at £750 million in the last financial year (2021/22).

The BT Group has 650 employees and contractors in Doncaster.

Through the company’s employees and its supply chain, and their subsequent spending, Hatch estimates the resulting boost to the region’s economy came to a total of £1.1 billion.

The company’s spending with suppliers based in the Yorkshire and the Humber came to a total of £250 million.

According to the study, BT Group’s combined activities supported a knock-on total of 13,400 jobs across the region.

The report highlights BT Group’s presence across the Yorkshire and the Humber and its current major investment in the rollout of full-fibre broadband and 5G across the country. It also profiles the range of activities by BT Group colleagues across the UK, from the volunteers helping care home residents avoid isolation and loneliness, to the teams protecting customers and the UK from cyber threats.

BT Group is also transforming its offices and contact centres across the UK and last year announced plans to open a state-of-the-art new hub in Sheffield, which will serve as one of its key sites across the UK. New hubs are also set to open in Manchester and Cardiff this year, and offices in Belfast and Glasgow have undergone major refurbishments.

It is part of the company’s Better Workplace Programme, one of the largest workplace improvement schemes of its type ever undertaken in the UK. The five-year programme will see the company shift from having around 300 locations in the UK to around 30, with a focus on creating new, modern workspaces.

Philip Jansen, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “BT Group plays a vital role at the heart of the UK economy. We're one of only a handful of companies that serves customers in every corner of the country.

“We've continued our major investment in building next generation full fibre and mobile connectivity rapidly across the UK. We've already reached 9.6 million premises with full fibre, and our 5G mobile network now reaches 60% of the UK population. The benefits to families and businesses are huge: new jobs, economic growth and innovation, across every nation and region.

“We’re also transforming BT Group so that we’re fit to power the UK economy of the future. Our new state-of-the-art offices, spread across the UK, are a central part of that, bringing colleagues together in brilliant spaces that will enable collaboration and help us to better serve our customers.”