Firm Takes State's Offer

Will Open Hartford Office, Create 150 Jobs In Area

August 26, 2006
By JANICE PODSADA, Courant Staff Writer

The first company to take advantage of Connecticut's two new business incentive programs said Friday that it plans to open a new office in Hartford, creating an estimated 150 full-time jobs in the area.

GlobeOp Financial Services expects to be the first company to take advantage of the state's new Job Creation Tax Credit and Displaced Worker Tax Credit programs. The firm provides administrative, technical and financial services to hedge funds, including banks and insurance companies, said Roger Pondel, a spokesman for GlobeOp.

The two business incentive programs were passed during this year's legislative session and went into effect July 1, said James Watson, a spokesman for the state's Department of Economic and Community Development.

Both programs were sponsored by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Watson said. "She introduced the concepts at the start of the 2006 legislative session," he said.

Based in New York and London, GlobeOp recently signed a lease for about 20,000 square feet of office space in downtown Hartford - an entire floor - at Goodwin Square, owned by Northland Investment Corp.

"We expect to be fully operational by the end of 2006 or early 2007 and look forward to tapping into the highly skilled workforce in the area," said Hans Hufschmid, GlobeOp's chairman and CEO.

The state's new business incentives for job creation and hiring displaced workers were a key component of MetroHartford Alliance's recruitment effort, said R. Nelson "Oz" Griebel, the president and CEO of the Alliance, which functions as the city's chamber of commerce and the region's economic development agency. "The GlobeOp decision is a great endorsement of the state's enhanced focus on job growth," he said.

Under the state's Job Creation Tax Credit program, any company new to Connecticut that creates a minimum of 50 new full-time jobs - and then keeps employees in those jobs for at least 12 months - is eligible for up to 25 percent of the state income tax that is withheld from those new employees' wages. The credit applies for five consecutive years for each new employee. The program is administered through the DECD.

Companies can use the credit against insurance premiums or corporation or utility company tax, Watson said.

The state's Displaced Worker Tax Credit program provides companies that hire workers in the state who've been laid off with a business tax credit worth $1,500 a person.

Capitol Workforce Partners, one of five work-force investment boards in the state, will be assisting GlobeOp locate displaced workers and access the credit, Johnson said.

"When we heard that GlobeOp could be expanding, I contacted them directly," Johnson said. "We felt they would be a great fit for this market.

"We tried to help them see themselves here," Johnson said.

GlobeOp, providing services to the hedge fund industry, "is a type of business that is new to the area," Johnson said.

According to Rell, the hedge fund industry is growing in Connecticut.

"While there is a large concentration of hedge fund companies in Fairfield County, [Friday's] announcement may signal the beginning of an expansion of this key industry into the Hartford region," Rell said.