Bournemouth (UK), October 2018 - Unicorn Training are on course to eclipse their record-breaking 2017 after recording their best ever figures in each of the first eight months of this year. Unicorn and its Serious Games division, Game Brain, attracted big crowds at The World of Learning Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham last week.
Last year, Unicorn, which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, posted record sales of £9.1m. And with 2018's quarter one numbers up 35% on the same period last year, Unicorn are on track to achieve sales of more than £11m for the first time.
This continued success has seen Unicorn shortlisted in the final three for the SCALEUP Award for Growth at the Dorset Business Awards, as well being amongst the Company of the Year finalists at the international Learning Technologies Awards, both of which take place next month.
Bournemouth brothers Peter and Andy Phillips founded Unicorn in 1988, three years before the World Wide Web was even publicly introduced! In the thirty years since, the company has evolved and grown as technology has advanced from floppy disks and CD ROMs to the interconnected, permanently online digital world we live in today.
Peter, who was AFC Bournemouth Chairman from 2002 to 2006, said, "We've grown steadily over many years, but three years ago decided on a new high-growth strategy. This involved more investment in our technology infrastructure, an enhanced marketing budget, and a couple of key acquisitions.
"We have also branched out from our core financial services market to win major clients in other regulated industries, while continuing to build on our unrivalled experience and expertise in that sector, supporting financial firms and organisations in addressing their many varied regulatory and people development challenges."
This year has seen Unicorn building a legal training division, having acquired law training specialists Socrates last winter. The result is the delivery of a new training solution to help firms comply with The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
Unicorn has offices in the City of London and in the creative heart of Brighton, too. However, the company's home remains in Bournemouth, where it now employs over 100 staff. Last month, Unicorn moved its Bournemouth HQ from its Holdenhurst Road home to the town's iconic Telephone House.
Peter added, "Each of our main business streams - content development, platform services, off-the-shelf compliance solutions, and games and simulations - achieved double digit growth in the last financial year, enabling us to expand our Bournemouth team. We've always been proud to be a Bournemouth company, and we're excited about being able to invest in local talent and play our part as the town grows as a vibrant creative digital hub."
