BOSSES of a high-tech firm specialising in websites for mobile phones have pledged to stay true to their new-found Bolton roots.

Jamie Garside and David Chamberlain founded Mobelio two years ago and have moved three times within Bolton to accommodate expansion.

Mobelio can now be found in Bark Street East, where they have continued to develop their platforms for mobile websites.

Using other freelance specialists based in the USA and the Ukraine, they have grown to a Bolton workforce of five and recently recruited their first apprentice — Abigail Livesey-Parker, aged 18, from Walkden.

She has been taken on to help Mobelio keep up with the rapid increase in the number of small businesses signing up for its mobile marketing services.

Taking on Miss Livesey-Parker from the local catchment area is a pattern 29-year-old Mr Garside and Mr Chamberlain, aged 27, are aiming to continue.

The pair selected Bolton as the birthplace of the business in August, 2012, simply because Mr Chamberlain lived in Preston and Mr Garside was based in Salford.

Mr Garside said: “It was more or less the halfway point between the two of us.

“We could have moved to Manchester, but we decided to build the business here because the affordable rent.

“We also wanted to open our business to a different pool of talent. A lot of tech companies are located in Manchester, which means there is a lot of competition for talented people in that sector.

“However, many of those talented people might prefer not to have the extra expense and trouble of the daily commute into Manchester. Why not stay here?”

Meanwhile, Mr Chamberlain has also voiced his delight with his new recruit’s progress since joining Mobelio.

He said: “Since Abigail started we’ve been really impressed with her eagerness to learn and progress within the company.

“Apprentices aren’t just there to make cups of tea and file papers. With the right training, I believe our apprentices will be the managers and directors of tomorrow.”