Tech giant Q4 buys into “quality of life” message of Hamilton and invests in new office on King Street
- Craig Clark
- 12 Feb 2020
Downtown Hamilton is changing with the city moving toward a tech industry base. A major player in the financial-technology space — Q4 Inc. — took notice and will be expanding into the city with their new office on King Street East. The announcement comes at a time when the city is trying to reposition itself as a tech hub for companies looking to grow.
Q4 Inc. is a leading global provider of cloud-based investor relations. It is a trusted partner in over 2,200 of the world’s leading brands with offices already established in Toronto, New York, Copenhagen, and London.
Not only does Q4 represent an important part of the rapid rejuvenation of Hamilton’s downtown core, the company will also create around 140 new jobs that offer competitive salaries and benefits within the tech industry. According to CEO Darrell Heaps, Hamilton represents a growing and valuable talent pool of potential young workers who are looking for an opportunity to work in a modern downtown setting with all the qualities Hamilton has to offer such as affordable housing and living expenses.
Judy Lam, Manager of Commercial Districts and Small Business at the City of Hamilton, says that it’s the “quality of life” message that Hamilton represents that has been so attractive to tech companies opening offices in the city.
Hamilton represents a linking corridor that allows companies like Q4 to invest in employees who come from all over Southern Ontario with its proximity to several universities and colleges including McMaster University and Mohawk College in Hamilton. The city’s new position as a leading hub for growing tech businesses has changed the outlook of new grads from the area to encourage people who have studied in the city and surrounding areas to stay and grow here rather than Toronto or Kitchener/Waterloo.
The corridor also represents an easy connection between Toronto, Niagara, and Guelph that all have a toe in tech industries opening offices in nearby locations. Hamilton is the fastest growing mid-sized city in Canada for tech talent with its tech sector growing nearly 53% in the last five years, according to a recent CBRE Report.
Although the rejuvenation of the downtown core has its lovers and haters, Heaps and Lam both see the expansion of Q4 as a positive story and a stepping stone for more significant growth for the local economy as the city looks to move forward. Q4 has such a positive reputation amongst their tech peers that opening an office in Hamilton makes the city more attractive to other leading tech companies to also come to the neighbourhood.
According to Lam, other tech companies have enquired about opening a new office in the same building as Q4 due to the activity that 140 new employees would bring to the downtown. Trendy cafes and shops mixed with the affordable housing in the surrounding neighbourhoods makes it an attractive place for a high quality of life for its employees.
The new Q4 offices will occupy the entire 9,500 sq. ft. second floor of a new four-storey brick-and-beam office at 59 King St E. They are scheduled to open in March with plans to expand even further to the fourth floor of the same building by the end of 2020.
With its headquarters in Toronto, Q4 currently employs around 250 people worldwide. The company has experienced rapid growth within the past few years after announcing a partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence and Business Wire, which has also doubled its client base to 2,200 within the past few months.
Q4’s investment in Hamilton is not only a strong signal to their thoughts on Hamilton becoming a dominate player in Canada’s tech landscape but perhaps more importantly, has perked up the ears of other tech companies willing to also make the leap. To gather momentum in this way is one of the last pieces of the puzzle in determining the future of Hamilton’s economy.
Lead photo by Jeff Tessier. Pictured is Darrell Heaps, CEO and founder of Q4 Inc.
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