Despite its name, Sumo Digital isn’t a company that throws its weight around in public, largely due to the secrecy of its work-for-hire projects. Yet it kept us busy in December with a double-whammy of news. Soon after its parent company Sumo Group was floated on the stock market, the company expanded its operations with the takeover of CCP Newcastle, renamed to Sumo Newcastle.
The acquisition takes the company up to around 500 employees – growing from just 12 initially back in 2003. So the name is starting to feel very appropriate, as one of the largest studios in the UK.
From an initial single building the company now sprawls out across seven on its
Sheffield site. Paul Porter, managing director of Sumo Digital, tells us that the company’s growth has been steady and considered over nearly 15 years now.
“I don’t think we’ve accelerated particularly. It’s been year-on-year growth and at no point has there been any drive to say ‘we must get to be this big’. It’s always been a case of what work have we got on? What quality output can we produce? And how can we hire and fill the studio to meet those requirements?
“It was never a case of hiring lots of people and then seeing what work we can get. We’ve grown to match the opportunities that have been available within the skill sets that we’ve got.”