Continuing to expand its global footprint, Essar group's BPO firm Aegis on Wednesday announced its entry to the United Kingdom and Europe, and will open a new office later this year in Manchester creating 600 jobs.

Aegis plans further significant expansion across Europe, where a number of additional customer service centres will be opened during the next two years, Aparup Sengupta, Global CEO and Managing Director of Aegis, said in a statement.

"Our strategy is to ensure that people calling our centres get an excellent experience. The best way to do that is to have a strong onshore presence, rather than having offshore," he said.

Aegis, which is one of the world's largest outsourcing businesses with over 50,000 employees across 50 locations globally, is entering the UK and European outsourcing market at a time when strong market growth is forecast.

The multi-billion pound outsourcing market in the UK is expected to see significant growth in the future. Businesses in a variety of industry sectors, both public and private, are increasingly looking for efficiency improvements across all their operations, which is opening up fresh opportunities for skilled outsourcing providers, the company said.

The new facility of the company at Manchester will occupy 40 thousand square feet space in Piccadilly Gardens and will be operational by end of this year. Aegis will create 600 new jobs initially at this office.

The company made its decision to open a customer centre in Manchester following a consultation process with local businesses and civic leaders of the city. Aegis will service a number of blue-chip clients from the Manchester centre.

Commenting on the development, Lord Green, UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, said, "This is a clear testimony of confidence in the UK economy and another success story of a large Indian conglomerate using the UK as a springboard for global growth."

Headquartered in Mumbai, Aegis has annual revenues of USD 700 million and serves 12 countries, including the USA, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and India. In the Americas alone, it employs over 10,000 people.

Sudhir Agarwal, Aegis President of Global Mergers and Acquisition, said, "We are looking at hiring 600 people in the UK and at further significant expansion and recruitment across Europe."