COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Bupa International

Business nature: Health insurance

Date established: 1971

Location: Three offices across Brighton

Number of employees: 600

Annual turnover: £600 million

Think of big private employers in Brighton and Hove and the usual suspects come to mind – American Express, Legal & General and EDF.

These large companies are pretty hard to miss, operating from huge office blocks often with their logo emblazoned on the side of the building.

But tucked away behind the Churchill Square shopping centre is a firm which can almost match these big names for size, and soon may even beat them.

Bupa International has had a presence in the city since the 1970s and is about to embark on one of its most ambitious expansion programmes ever.

The health insurer aims to double in size in the next three years.

It has already employed 70 people since January and will look to recruit between 30 and 40 more people every month.

Bupa, which won the Queen’s Award for international export achievement in 1999 and 2005, has an office in Russell Square, Brighton, and another above Barclay’s bank on North Road.

It is about to open a third site in the city and may look for further sites, or even one massive office to equal the likes of Amex, to cope with its future expansion plans.

The company has committed to Brighton because of the high number of jobseekers and graduates with good language skills.

Bupa provides health insurance to people working outside their country of origin, covering more than 800,000 people in 190 countries, and therefore needs people who can communicate with almost every corner of the globe.

According to Bupa managing director Keith Biddlestone, Brighton is about the only place in the UK where they can provide this level of service. He said: “We have about 40 different nationalities here who speak up to 30 different languages.”

The vibrancy of Brighton took Mr Biddlestone by surprise when he moved to the city a few years ago.

He said: “I was working for Bupa in Hong Kong and when I was asked to come back, to be honest, I had a heavy heart. Brighton is much more cosmopolitan than I was expecting.

It is a fantastic place to work, I love it.”

Mr Biddlestone admits feeling “strangely guilty” about doing well while other companies struggle in the recession but is excited about the future.

He added: “The number one reason for our success is the global economy. A growing number of companies are requiring staff to work in different countries.

“When people move across national boundaries one of the things they worry about most is health care for themselves and their family.

“The number two reason is that, without meaning to boast, we are very good at what we do. Our customers rate us very highly.”

Mr Biddlestone agrees that Bupa has kept a low profile in Brighton during the years but aims to improve that by sponsoring Brighton Rugby Club and the festival as well as getting more staff involved in community projects.

The firm is recruiting for a range of different jobs. For more information, visit www.bupa-intl.com.