Global WiFi software company Purple has opened its new office at Annie Kenney Mill in Chadderton, Oldham, as the business cements its UK base ahead of an ambitious international growth programme. 

The opening marks the next phase of a strategy that has already seen Purple – a star of our MarTech 50 ranking – grow into a business operating across 80,000 venues in multiple countries, achieve recognition as a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services and post over £1m in profit. 

The choice of location is significant for Purple; Annie Kenney, after whom the mill is named, was an Oldham-born suffragette and one of the few working-class women at the heart of the movement. 

The building’s environmental credentials were an important part of the initial search – an EPC rating of A, photovoltaic solar panels and electric vehicle charging points also sit well with how Purple operates as a certified B Corp.

Having established a city-wide WiFi model with Newcastle City Council, the first deployment of its kind combining seamless public connectivity with real-time analytics across an entire city, Purple is now pursuing similar partnerships with cities across the UK and internationally. 

The target is for 60% of revenue to be generated outside the UK within the next three years.