A growing Norfolk telecommuni-cations firm which has customers across the UK is hoping to target more business in the region after opening a new office in Norwich.

Swains Plc – which has its headquarters in Dersingham, near King's Lynn – has also launched a new mobile phone service after moving into office space at Cavell House on St Crispins Road.

The company, which grew out of the Hunstanton camera firm with the same name in 2000, has grown from a one man band and now employs 28 people, with that set to rise to 30.

Until now the company has provided telecoms and data services, including broadband and land line telephone services to businesses, but they will now also provide mobile phones.

Sales director Barry Ward said the company has been developing the new services over 18 months and has become what is known as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) which allows it to provide both Vodafone and O2 mobile phone services to its business customers.

Although the company is based in Norfolk it has customers across the UK and counts Norwich Airport, Lovewell Blake, Cambridge University and WD40 among its clients. It has recently won a contract with Somerset County Council worth around �500,000 a year.

Mr Ward said that the company had grown slowly and it had measured its growth along the way. It now has an annual turnover of around �7.5m.

'There are a lot of people offering cheap telephones and calls, but we are also trying to help businesses to grow,' he added.

The firm's new Norwich office will be used for the sales and marketing of the new mobile technology and will house three people.

'There is a lot of big business in East Anglia, this is where our traditional routes are. It is a positive place to be. There is a huge market out there and Norwich is the centre of that,' added Mr Ward.

He said that the company had huge future expansion plans and was looking for more partners nationally.

annabelle.dickson@archant.co.uk