Fexco has won planning approval for a new IT centre and innovation hub on a vacant site in Killorglin, Co Kerry that could house 300 staff. The international financial services company, which began life as a tiny money exchange operation, had applied to partially demolish the former Liebig factory on the Killarney Road, which has been idle since closing five years ago. It has also been given permission to change the use of the site and for new construction.

In its planning application, Fexco had said it wanted to build the specialised hub close to its existing Killorglin operations, where it employs around 2,300 staff. It said it had run out of space in Killorglin town centre and “urgently needed” accommodation for 200 staff.

Fexco plans to employ 80 people in the innovation hub and move a further 200 from its existing operation in Iveragh Road.

Fexco was founded in Killorglin in 1981 by Corkman Brian McCarthy, a former assistant manager in AIB. The company now employs 2,000 across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North America, Latin America and Australasia.