The first Foreign Direct Investment to locate at IT Sligo’s Innovation Centre with the support of IDA Ireland has successfully expanded and relocated from the campus to offices in Sligo city centre, securing 20 highly skilled financial services jobs for the region.
Equinoxe AIS, a global hedge fund administrator which is headquartered in Bermuda, established at the Innovation Centre in October 2010 with a staff of four, and now the 20-strong team has relocated to a sizable, modern office space on Sligo’s Castle Street.
Employment-ready graduates from the Institute, the support of the Innovation Centre and the work-life balance offered in the North West, helped to attract the company to Sligo, according to John Nugent, Business & Relationship Development Manager, North West Region IDA Ireland; “The success of Equinoxe’s Sligo operation to date is a great endorsement of the location for Foreign Direct Investment. IDA Ireland works with local stakeholders, such as IT Sligo, to ensure that the business needs of our client companies are met. The Innovation Centre in IT Sligo is an attractive home for client companies as they establish their Irish based business and IDA Ireland already has another client company moving into the centre in the coming weeks.”
IT Sligo’s Head of Innovation Niall McEvoy said that the level of cooperation between the Institute and IDA Ireland is important and mutually beneficial; “Supporting the development and growth of business is what we do in the Innovation Centre. It’s a win-win formula for the business, the college and our students. Equinoxe AIS has grown from an original staff of four to 20 in the three years since it established at our Innovation Centre, and a quarter of the team are graduates of IT Sligo.
Stephen Castree, Equinoxe AIS CEO, said the company is confident about its future in Sligo; “Following an exciting three years of global business growth, we’re delighted to have been able to graduate into larger office premises as the expansion of Equinoxe continues in Sligo. The support of IDA Ireland, coupled with our outstanding relationship with IT Sligo has allowed Equinoxe to grow seamlessly from the Innovation Centre our new office space in the centre of Sligo. We are satisfied that the Sligo office developing into a leading part of our offering to the European market place.
“We continue to be able to resource outstanding candidates in Sligo to service our growing international client base, and the location of Sligo from a work-life balance perspective for staff is fully in line with our other Equinoxe locations,” he said.
Operating as Director of Equinoxe Ireland, which also has a Dublin office in Malahide in Dublin, is Sligo-native Alan McKenna. A graduate of IT Sligo and a native of Strandhill in Sligo, Mr Mc Kenna has fifteen years experience at an international level in financial services and said he is delighted to see Equinoxe’s base in Sligo solidified. “The calibre of staff that we have been able to attract and retain has been a huge positive for Equinoxe and is in line with our other locations, IT Sligo, coupled with the help from the IDA, allowed us to develop and expand our presence in Ireland which is a key part of our global business”.
(Caption for above pic: “It all adds up” – Sligo ticks all the boxes for FDI hedge fund company Equinoxe AIS. Pictured from left to right at the announcement that the company has expanded and relocated from its original IT Sligo base to City Centre offices, are: (L-R) Stuart Drake, Chairman, Equinoxe AIS; Alan McKenna, Director, Equinoxe AIS Ireland; Niall McEvoy, Head of Innovation, IT Sligo; Stephen Castree, CEO, Equinoxe AIS; and John Nugent, Business & Relationship Development Manager, North West Region IDA Ireland. Photo by James Connolly. PicSell8.)
About Equinoxe AIS:
Equinoxe is a premium boutique service provider founded in 2007 by experienced hedge fund administration professionals. Headquartered in Bermuda, with offices in Bermuda, Dublin, Sligo, Atlanta and Mauritius, as well as an office in Singapore scheduled to open in 2013, it is a full-service alternative investment fund administration company.
For more information on Equinoxe AIS see http://www.equinoxeais.com/