FINANCIAL services group FinTrU, one of the north's greatest business success stories of the last decade, has confirmed a further major expansion into Derry which will see it add 300 more jobs in the city.
The move, part of a £20 million investment by the firm, will pump £8.6m a year in extra salaries into the Derry economy and doubles FinTrU's payroll there.
And while it will also take the award-winning company's overall staff numbers to beyond 1,500 (it also has offices in Belfast, Letterkenny, Porto, Dublin, London, Maastricht and New York), the growth won't end there.
“I'm unashamedly ambitious, and we aren't stopping hiring anytime soon,” the firm's founder and chief executive Darragh McCarthy said.
“Some of the largest private sector employers in Northern Ireland have 2,500 to 3,000 employees.
“And I can't see any reason why FinTrU won't be at that size in the next number of years, and then we'll reassess and take it from there.”
He added: “This latest expansion is a major step for FinTrU, significantly increasing our competitiveness and catapulting us into a new era of business growth.”
The jobs will be based at FinTrU's existing Derry headquarters at City Factory on Patrick Street (a former shirt factory) and also spill into new premises at Carlisle House.
The company. which previously unveiled plans to recruit 300 people in Letterkenny and 500 in Porto, works with many of the world's leading global investment banks specialising in areas such as compliance, risk, controls and operations.
“In layman's terms, we protect the integrity of the securities markets, whether you want to trade in shares, or do a foreign exchange transaction or buy a bond,” Mr McCarthy added.
“And following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine last year, FinTrU was one of the companies which monitored the funds of the Russian oligarchs to make sure they weren't moving around the world.”
Invest NI, which has supported Fin TrU since it was established in 2013, is contributing £1.65m towards the job creation programme and another £1.2m supporting its skills programme.
The investment is offering job opportunities for graduates of all disciplines and those wanting to change careers, and the roles range from graduates (details at www.fintru.com/grad) through to more senior experienced positions (www.fintru.com/careers).
Greg McCann, executive director at FinTrU and who heads up the company's City Factory Office, said: “Our people strategy is to attract, develop and retain the best talent in the marketplace.
“There are many high-quality graduates coming from the local universities and colleges who have supported us to win new customers and grow our sales globally. We have also welcomed a large number of experienced professionals, who have returned to the north west to pursue the high-quality careers we can provide.”
Invest NI's interim chief executive Mel Chittock said: “Job creation is only one part of the equation to build a productive, knowledge based, export driven economy; skills development is another. This investment delivers on both: 300 new jobs and a skills development package which will see the company invest in its staff.
“The increased skills and capabilities FinTrU gains will enable faster and increased company growth and will spearhead the development of a new financial services cluster in the north west region.
“Once in place, the 300 jobs here will contribute £8.6m of additional annual salaries to the local economy.”
The jobs announcement has been roundly welcomed in the north west, with Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood saying: “These roles will strengthen the relationship between Derry and FinTrU which will provide opportunities, improve our economy and create leaders for the future.”
Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said the creation of 300 new jobs and such an investment in skills development at the company was “hugely significant” for the north west region and Northern Ireland as a whole, while Sinn Féin assembly member Pádraig Delargy described the expansion as “great news” for the city and region.
