Northgate keeping quiet over ‘for sale’ claims

A leading technology website recently carried an article claiming that parent company Northgate Information Solutions has put the Church Road-based IT services business on the market for £100million.

One Northgate worker, who didn’t want to be named, contacted the Times this week to voice concerns about the future of the firm’s Newtownabbey facility.

“We’ve heard the rumours that Northgate is for sale, but only the Newtownabbey operation which deals with Veridian, NIE and the C2K schools project. This website is claiming that it’s for sale for £100million, so people are obviously concerned about what’s going to happen and what will happen to their jobs if this is true,” he said.

Another employee at the Church Road site added: “We’re being told nothing about what’s going on, but we’ve heard the rumour that the Managed Services part of the company is up for sale. Even if we did get sold off to another company, I wouldn’t like to think our jobs were in jeopardy.”

A spokesperson for the Northgate group and its parent company KKR wouldn’t confirm or deny the website’s claims.

“The company does not comment on market speculation,” he told the Times.

Northgate Managed Services - one of Newtownabbey’s biggest employers - was recently praised for the success of its IT apprenticeship scheme by HRH The Duke of York.

The firm currently employs around 600 people at its bases at Hillview House and Mossley Mill and is due to take on four new apprentices this year.