BT Group adds £690m to Northern Ireland economy

The activities of BT Group added £690 million to the wider economy of Northern Ireland last year and supported more than 7,300 jobs, according to a new report published today (Wednesday).

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 UK.

The report found that BT Group, the UK’s largest telecommunications company which employs more than 3,200 people in Northern Ireland, made a direct contribution to the NI economy estimated at £420 million in the last financial year (2021/22). Through the company’s employees and its supply chain, and their subsequent spending, Hatch estimates the resulting boost to the NI economy came to a total of £690 million.

The company’s spending with suppliers based in NI came to a total of £140 million. According to the study, BT Group’s combined activities supported a knock-on total of 7,340 jobs across NI.

The report highlights BT Group’s presence across NI and its current major investment in the rollout of full-fibre broadband and 5G. 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. It recently officially opened the multi-million pound refurbished Riverside Tower building in Belfast city centre. BT Group has already opened two brand new regional hubs in Birmingham and Bristol with new hubs set to open in Manchester and Cardiff this year.

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 NI economy. We're one of only a handful of companies that serves customers in every corner of the UK.

“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 Northern Ireland 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.”