BELFAST-based financial services group FinTrU has announced a major expansion into Europe that will create 500 jobs in Porto.
The fast-growing company, which specializes in tech-based solutions for global investment banks, has secured government backing in Portugal for a new client delivery centre.
It comes just three months after FinTrU announced Irish Government backing to create 300 jobs in a new European Delivery Centre in Letterkenny.
Set up in 2013, FinTrU now employs around 1,100 people across four offices in Belfast and Derry, alongside smaller hubs in Dublin, London, New York and Maastricht.
The financial services firm’s plans for Porto is its biggest jobs announcement since it announced an Invest NI-backed recruitment drive for 600 people across Belfast and Derry in 2018.
FinTrU said on Monday that the expansion into Porto will further enable its employees to work across its different global locations.
The company’s founder and chief executive Darragh McCarthy said: “As FinTrU continues to grow its International Investment Bank client portfolio, we see this expansion of our global footprint as a very important step in our company journey.
“Having reviewed a number of European locations, we were under no illusions that Porto represented the best choice for FinTrU as our next client delivery base.”
FinTrU said its Porto office has been approved as a project of national strategic interest by state body the IEFP (Institute of Employment and Vocational Training).
It’s also being support by the Portuguese trade and investment agency the AICEP, essentially the country’s version of Invest NI.
FinTrU chief of staff, Katrien Roppe, said: “We worked closely with AICEP who were fantastic in demonstrating the opportunities that Porto has to offer. The highly educated talent, the thriving business community and top tier universities on offer confirmed our decision.
“The client projects based at FinTrU Porto will be integrated into the FinTrU delivery framework, guaranteeing the high level of quality standards that we offer to our global clients.”
FinTrU said it plans to redevelop 32,000 sq ft of office space in Rua de Santa Catarina, located in Porto’s commercial core, and have the offices open by the end of 2022.
