FEATURE
Big plans – Kimberley hints that further exciting growth is in the pipeline for Double Eleven .
“ We sometimes have to pinch ourselves at how far we ’ ve come , but we ’ re proud to be putting Middlesbrough on the global map .”
goat , was successful enough to justify the venture into selfpublishing . The game came out in 2015 and Double Eleven ’ s turnover leapt from £ 1.2m to £ 4.4m .
The company ’ s name comes from the New Age belief that 11 11 is the “ awakening code ” – signifying whether someone ’ s on the right path – and Double Eleven was clearly heading in an upward direction because another “ massive moment ” came in 2019 , when it was chosen as developer for the hit game Minecraft Dungeons .
The company has gone from employing 64 people in December 2018 to around 360 today , with growth driven by the trend towards games being built for longevity , leading to longer-term commercial partnerships with the likes of Paradox , Bethesda , Mojang and Microsoft .
Though the pandemic years were tough , with everyone working from home , the business kept growing , with no employees needing to be furloughed . And the upward trajectory shows no sign of stopping because the next step in Double Eleven ’ s development will be to create a game from scratch , with a small team busy working on a prototype .
Other goals are to build on the company ’ s reputation for being a progressive employer , with an increasingly attractive benefits package , and a determination to keep growing – from Middlesbrough .
“ There ’ s no need for us to go anywhere else because we ’ ve found everything we need in Middlesbrough ,” says Kimberley , hinting at “ some exciting growth plans in the area ”.
Meanwhile , she ’ s , naturally , thrilled to have been named Tees Businesswoman of the Year and the accolade has reinforced her personal commitment to the area .
“ I ’ ve been so busy working with Lee , Mark and the team that I never really saw myself as a successful businesswoman , but I was humbled to be nominated , and it ’ s given me the chance to reflect on how far I ’ ve come .
“ Managing a 40-man team with a £ 1m turnover is a very different beast to being in control over the financial and commercial success of a 360-strong , £ 50m turnover business , and it ’ s scary to think how much more we could do over the next 10 years .
“ We ’ ve had some eye-watering offers for buyouts , but we ’ ve turned them down because we ’ re enjoying the journey , and we ’ re shooting for the moon .”
Kimberley and brother Lee may have been childhood rivals , but they ’ re on the same team now – and it ’ s a win-win situation .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 25