Global firm Allstate made waves in the NI IT and tech scene with the opening of its custom-built Belfast office last year. The company is now planning to give Derry the same treatment with a new 850-seat flagship office block in the city to support operations in the northwest.
Allstate currently employs around 800 staff across its offices in Strabane and Derry's Northland Road. The Derry-based staff will be moved into the new custom-built building, and it's expected that the existing Derry office will be wound down and closed. The Strabane facility is expected to be kept open, with the new office providing extra capacity for new staff to support expansion over the coming years.
The new building in Belfast has made a huge difference to the staff working there, and the Derry office is currently running into many of the same problems that the made the Belfast office a necessity. The Derry office is running at maximum capacity, leaving very little room for expansion and forcing the company to rent temporary office space at the Catalyst science park to provide working space for around 100 staff.
The Derry office will be smaller than its new Belfast headquarters (pictured above), but a location and timeframe for the move have not yet been announced. The Belfast office opened last summer as part of a £30m investment by the US-based insurance firm in Northern Ireland.
Source: Irish News
