THE boss of Worcester firm Gtech says he feels like “a new start” is shining upon its presence in the city - insisting he is confident about the future.

Two months ago we revealed how the company had bought a snazzy new 30,000 sq ft HQ on Shire Business Park in Warndon and pledged its long-term future to the city.

With the firm settled in its new site, owner and entrepreneur Nick Grey has told the Worcester News he intends to take it from strength to strength - saying he is “thrilled” with the new base.

He said: “It makes me smile to read how much money some companies spend on developing products - for me it’s an investment of the mind.

“It can cost as little as £10 to make a prototype, the question is how many times are you prepared to test and improve it and not take anything for granted?

“Developing a company is just as interesting.

“It gets harder as you grow though, and I’m thrilled that we managed to find a building in Worcester to move to - I’ve learned that happy staff lead to happy customers.”

Mr Grey, a former Tenbury High School pupil who left school with just two ‘O’ Levels, also said the company expected to grow from its new home.

“It feels like a new start for Gtech,” he said.

“We’ve got a showroom at the front end where customers can come and try our products, a smart research and development area at the back and the customer service advisors in the middle.

“The rest of us sit each side of the customer service team, with a 0.5km cycle track outside.

He added: “I still question everything - at Gtech we start with an idea of how something can be done better.

“We make working prototypes and test them at home - the real world, not the laboratory.

“We ignore what has been done before and what users take for granted.

“What if a bike had no oily chain and no gears and went uphill without you struggling? ‘It would be great’ we thought, so we made it.”

Gtech secured controversial planning permission to build on treasured green land at Berkeley Way, Warndon Villages back in March but decided to relocate to the new site instead.

The move is a significant boost for Worcester’s economy as Gtech was potentially considering leaving the city altogether due to problems in finding a suitable location.

The manufacturer, which makes vacuum cleaners, power tools and other appliances, says the Berkeley Way project is “on hold” for the foreseeable future as it concentrates on the new base.

Earlier this year The Sunday Times named Gtech as Britain’s second fastest growing company based on three years’ worth of profits - and it is one of the most innovative.

The new HQ used to be the home of Coomber Electronic Equipment near Junction 6 of the M5.