Industry & Business

West Cork based Global Shares, a leading global provider of share plan administration software, share-dealing, global custody and financial reporting tools has today announced the creation of a further 80 new jobs due to rapid global expansion, bringing its total global employee base to 228.

The new positions, some of which are supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland, are across many areas of the business – IT, Financial, Multi-lingual Share Plan Analysts, Service Desk, Trading & Legal. Recruitment will begin immediately with all positions to be filled over the next 24 months.  80% of the new positions will be based in Ireland, primarily at its Headquarters in Clonakilty.

The recruitment drive comes on the back of significant growth in Global Shares’ client base which has grown in the past two years from 150 to 250 clients based in 25 countries with participants in over 100 countries globally. During this time Global Shares has signed contracts with 6 FTSE 100 companies and the company’s client listing includes GSK, Skanska, Sage, Irish Life, Legal & General, Generali and others.

Today’s announcement follows the rapid growth in employee numbers over the last number of years rising from 68 staff in 2015. The latest recruitment drive will grow the Global Shares team to a total of 228 staff members across the company’s 10 offices – Clonakilty, Cork City, Dublin, London, Edinburgh, Portugal, Germany, New Jersey, California & Hong Kong.

Speaking at the announcement in West Cork today, Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance Michael D’Arcy TD, said: “I am delighted to join the Global Shares team today in its global headquarters in Clonakilty to celebrate the announcement of 80 new high tech and professional jobs. Over the last three years, Global Shares has achieved phenomenal global sales success, illustrating the potential of Ireland’s financial services sector to create high value, sustainable employment which is of such importance to local communities across the country.

An overarching objective of the Government’s IFS 2020 Strategy is to strengthen our indigenous Fintech sector as a source of high-value job creation. Approximately one-quarter of 2017 actions target this area. Global Shares is a great example of Enterprise Ireland’s policy of strategic investment, and today’s announcement is proof that an Irish company can compete and succeed on the global stage”, he concluded.

Tim Houstoun, CEO, Global Shares said: “Today’s job announcement is significant in that we have exceeded our three-year expansion target set in 2015 to create 80 new jobs with today’s announcement bringing the total to 160 new positions. We have experienced stellar growth across every aspect of our business over the past two years and additionally became MiFID & FINRA/SEC regulated, meaning we can now offer clients a complete one-stop solution to manage every aspect of their employee share plan. We are at a key point in our growth cycle and have undertaken significant restructuring in recent months to meet the changing needs of our business. This growth has led to the launch of a significant recruitment drive for high-skilled roles and we look forward to receiving applications from those who wish to be part of an exciting and cutting-edge global company.”

Martin Corkery, Regional Director, South and South East, Enterprise Ireland said: “We have been working with Tim and the team in Global Shares since its inception in 2006. Global Shares solutions and software have set a new benchmark for the share plan administration industry, delivering unrivalled functionality, customisation, flexibility and an exceptional user-friendly experience. The company is a great example of an Irish Fintech business with global ambition and our aim is to help more Irish companies like Global Shares to compete and win sustained business in overseas markets. Enterprise Ireland looks forward to continuing to work with Global Shares to continue to support their growth ambitions as they expand their reach even further in global markets, strengthening their customer base internationally and continuing to create jobs here in Ireland.”

Global Shares is Irish-owned and Irish-headquartered and has invested significantly in its home market in recent years, opening new offices, establishing a new Irish team and gaining an influential client base. The company works closely with the Irish ProShare Association (IPSA) in the drive to grow awareness of employee share ownership with a particular focus on schemes such as the APSS, Clog & SAYE. Global Shares also supports the Government initiative to introduce new share scheme legislation for Small to Medium Sized Enterprises in Budget 2018.