Verve to Open 'Northern Hub' in Manchester

London-based community panels specialist Verve is planning to open an office in Manchester, which will initially be led by founder and CEO Andrew Cooper, who has relocated to the north of England; and Joint Head of Insight Richard Preedy. The firm has also hired three new execs.

Verve was launched in 2008 by the founders of Research Now, Hall & Partners and the iD Factor - Cooper (pictured left), Mike Hall and Jon Gumbrell respectively. The company, which also has offices in Chicago and Romania, uses commonly adopted technology to gather feedback, and integrates multiple data sources to deliver more in-depth insight. In December, the UK business of communities company Potentiate became part of Verve, which has since integrated Potentiate's model for combining community panels and CX programmes. More recently, Verve launched an Innovation and Brand Strategy offering.

Preedy (right) says that with a number of the team now based in the north, and with plans to build an initial team of ten to fifteen staff, the new 'Northern Hub' will provide a stimulating environment for collaboration, learning and creativity. Cooper adds: 'Manchester is a fantastic place for a vibrant Verve Hub to contribute to a well-balanced flexible working style'.

Separately in London, the company has recently appointed former Spalding Goobey Recruitment Consultant Vishal Mohit as in-house Talent Manager; former YouGov quant researcher Matthew Bowls as Associate Director; and Hayley Frost joins as Research Manager, after ten years at Maru / Matchbox.

Web site: www.addverve.com .