US software company Diligent's plan to establish a European hub in Galway has moved up a gear with the selection of Bonham Quay as the location for its new offices.
Since announcing its intention last November to create more 200 jobs in the city, the New York-headquartered business governance specialist has to date recruited more than 100 employees in Galway in the areas of customer support, customer success, product development, human resources and marketing. The company is expected to move its Irish-based workforce into Bonham Quay by early 2022.
Diligent's new office forms part of the wider 370,000sq ft (34,374sq m) Bonham Quay campus being constructed by developer Gerry Barrett's Edward Capital. Upon completion, the scheme will comprise 349,000sq ft of offices distributed across four buildings, 21,000sq ft of retail/restaurant space and 91,435sq ft of new landscaped public space. The letting of the overall development is being managed by the Galway offices of Cushman & Wakefield.
Bonham Quay bears the distinction of being the first development in Ireland to adhere to the One Planet Living framework and its 10 principles of social, environmental and economical sustainability. The scheme also follows the Well building standard where employee wellbeing is looked after with the provision of facilities for exercise, meditation and mindfulness through a wellness centre, gym, green spaces, rooftop terrace and gardening amenities with consideration given to the quality of air, water, nourishment, light, fitness and comfort. The buildings are targeting LEED gold and WiredScore platinum certification.
Welcoming Diligent's decision to locate its new European hub at Bonham Quay, Paddy McDonald, director at Edward Capital, said: "Our ambition with Bonham Quay is to attract world-class companies to create employment in the heart of Galway city. We are delighted to welcome Diligent Corporation into one of our four buildings. We look forward to working with Diligent and welcoming their new team as they grow their talent base in the city."
Founded in 1994, Diligent provides a cloud-based subscription service that is used by more than 19,000 organisations in more than 90 countries. The company’s software platform helps its clients manage governance-related issues more effectively. Its success is borne out by the fact that its customer base includes more than 50 per cent of the companies in the Fortune 1,000 and 70 per cent of the FTSE 100, and by recorded revenues of $330 million in 2019 alone.
Scaling rapidly
Commenting on his company’s expansion in Galway, Diligent’s chief financial officer, Michael Stanton, said: “Our operations in Galway are scaling rapidly with over 100 employees hired in the past few months and plans to grow to more than 200 in 2021. There is limitless opportunity in Galway to attract great talent from all over Ireland and in selecting Bonham Quay we are able to offer a modern location for our new employees to work and play.”
Ruairí Conroy, Diligent’s Galway site leader, added: “We decided to build our European hub in Galway because of the excellent pool of talent available locally, and its reputation as Ireland ‘s most multicultural city.
“As a new entrant to Galway’s growing tech ecosystem we want to create a work environment that encourages collaboration, inspires creation and brings in all of the natural elements that make this city so attractive.”
