By Daniel Hunter
The Mayor of London has hailed the arrival of Canadian social media management company, HootSuite, as it launched its European headquarters in the capital.
The firm joins the growing number of successful North American digital businesses that have set up their European HQ in London, now the leading digital capital of Europe.
HootSuite’s social media management system allows individuals and companies to manage and track their social media profiles (such as Twitter and Facebook) conveniently from one place. Currently, 79 of the world’s Fortune 100 companies use HootSuite, including McDonalds, PepsiCo, Sony Music and others.
The company plans to hire more than 24 sales and support job positions and expand the team to 50 by the end of next year. HootSuite is growing at 300 per cent a year in Canada adding an average of six employees to their office in Vancouver every week.
"Within the next two years our goal is to bring our product to more agencies and brands, integrating it to their social business structure. Our target is to grow the London office to 50 employees by December next year and then grow beyond that," says HootSuite’s CEO, Ryan Holmes.
"London’s agency culture is what attracted us to this market. It has been a big advantage to moving here as it opens up access to a wide variety of people who have experience working in these closely networked business structures."
London currently has the largest concentration of digital agencies of any European city, with 85 of the top 100 interactive agencies being based in the capital. Supporting the growth of the technology and digital sector is a key goal for the Mayor, who will be using the Olympic and Paralympic Games to promote London to business audiences through a series of engagement and promotional events which includes hosting business leaders using City Hall as London House to create a business networking hub.
"London is now at the forefront of the high tech revolution, proving itself as a global magnet for the innovative companies that meet the needs and harness the opportunities of the 21 century," Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said.
"Our vibrant city has the outstanding workforce, space and infrastructure to nurture the very brightest and best digital talent. This is good news for Londoners meaning job creation and economic growth. Our confidence in our offer for this sector is testified by the decision by fast-growing HootSuite to locate its European base right here. During Games-time it is my mission to ensure that visiting business leaders recognise all world class credentials so even more companies decide London is the top choice for their investment."
Nick Baird, the Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment, said:
"London is at the centre of so many businesses and media networks that HootSuite really can grow their business in the UK but also develop their business abroad from here. In this Olympic year they will find the myriad of business opportunities and events create the ideal conditions to accelerate their growth in the UK."
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