A SOFTWARE company owner has increased pay and holidays for employees as part of a drive to attract more top technical talent to South Cheshire.

Stuart Campbell, CEO at Crewe software, data and services company Information Catalyst (ICE) surprised his 40-strong team of scientists and software engineers with a bumper Christmas pay packet and the promise of 12 extra vacation days in 2022.

He has increased salaries by around 15 to 20 per cent in line with other areas of the country, such as London, where skilled engineers have traditionally been paid more.

Mr Campbell, who founded ICE 10 years ago, said: "For many years there has been a shortage of software developers and related skills not just in the UK but across Europe.

"What tech talent there is here is often lured South where salaries are higher. To overcome this, we previously offered a reasonable salary package for South Cheshire plus the added benefit of being able to work from home.

"Employees typically spent two or three days in our Haslington office providing them with a good work-life-balance and the flexibility to work round family commitments.

"Roll on nearly two years and our USP has disappeared. ICT sector pay has risen dramatically in the pandemic, holidays have gone up and now everyone can work from home.

"We had to do something creative to remain attractive to skilled personnel, so we have permanently increased the salaries of all existing employees, not just developers, by 15 to 20 per cent on average.

"On top of this we have implemented a 'Free Friday' where in addition to the typical 28 days of holiday staff can take an additional 12 Fridays as paid holiday.

"Cheshire East is rated as one of the country's best places to live and work and we hope this will encourage existing talent to remain, and new technical talent to join us."

Information Catalyst, based on Crewe Road in Haslington, helps companies improve their business activities through cutting-edge research, innovation and custom software development.

The specialist consultancy works with companies and organisations across the UK and Europe to achieve a "digital transformation journey" supported by a friendly and talented team.

He added: "It was good to be able to reward hard-working colleagues and put ICE in a good state to face future challenges and continue our growth.

"We look forward to hearing from software developers who would like to join us in the New Year."

You can find out more about ICE at the [L] https://informationcatalyst.com/[L+] company's website.