Deluxe is relocating its access services operation with the launch of a facility at MediaCityUK.

Deluxe is shifting its north of England office from Gateshead to Salford to be closer to ITV’s burgeoning MediaCityUK operation.

From July, a 15-strong team will be based at MediaCityUK’s The Landing to work on live and pre-recorded subtitles, as well as audio description services.

The Salford base will also act as a disaster recovery facility for Deluxe’s Acton-headquartered access services team.

Managing director of Deluxe Media Europe Chris Higgs said the initial focus would be on access services, but Deluxe viewed the move as a “first step” towards offering a wider range of services to media firms in the area.

“We see an opportunity to offer transcoding and digital content management services to producers and to help move their content to different platforms,” he said.

“The move to Salford is part of our strategic vision to align our media management services with the creative hubs around the country.”

Deluxe has also begun a collaboration with the University of Salford, with the aim of mentoring and recruiting graduates from the local area to work at Deluxe.

“We have been looking at Salford for some time and this expansion of our services is an obvious first step towards creating a strong presence for Deluxe services in the north west,” added chief operating officer Lesley Marr. 

“One of our clients, ITV, has moved to MediaCity and there is a burgeoning production hub developing on site and we are excited to becoming an active member of this community.”