Sunshine Coast investment: Major company applies for expansion backing

An international company with more than 100,000 employees across 30 countries specialising in digitising operations has reached out to council for backing of its expansion.

A major tech company is eyeing expansion to the Sunshine Coast.

A mystery mega company is eyeing off a possible Sunshine Coast expansion to its business which currently employs more than 100,000 people across 30 countries.

Details were kept under wraps during the Sunshine Coast Council’s October ordinary meeting on Thursday, October 27, as councillors voted to authorise chief executive Emma Thomas to negotiate an incentive offer to secure the firm.

Council officers said the company – which employed more than 100,000 people across 30 countries – had applied to the council under its investment incentive scheme.

The global professional services company which helps other firms digitise operations has operated within Australia for several years and had several hundred staff in the country servicing clients across finance, retail, technology and health care sectors.

The report to councillors revealed a projected economic impact both directly and indirectly of more than $7m and 26 local jobs during the project phase, rising to $169.63m and 558 full-time equivalent jobs recurring annually during the operational phase.

It was unclear exactly where in the region the company had identified as the site for its possible expansion, but it was understood the Maroochydore CBD had been under consideration.

Councillors voted unanimously to enter into confidential session during discussions on the proposal in Thursday’s meeting in order to protect commercial interests of the deal.

“This is a big time business and there’s a lot of money at stake here and I would like to make sure we don’t stuff this up,” Councillor Jason O’Pray said.

The Peregian Digital Hub.

It came as Aussie tech giant Atlassian’s national recruitment drive roadshow hit the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday, October 26, as part of its mission to employ 1032 new research and development staff with a pop-up recruitment stall opening on Thursday, October 27 at the Peregian Digital Hub.

An Atlassian spokeswoman confirmed it was not the firm behind the approach to the council.

Atlassian – which currently had about 9000 employees – was hiring across a range of specialist fields including full-stack engineers, backend infrastructure engineers and specialised areas like security as it went on a tour of nine “talent hot spots” around the country.

Meanwhile in Thursday’s meeting councillors voted unanimously to act to put tenancies for two ground-floor spaces in the new city hall building in the Maroochydore CBD out to the open market.

The gallery heard no submissions had been received for two of the three tenancies during a tender process which ran from September to mid-October, while submissions received for the third tenancy remained under consideration.

Councillors voted unanimously to have two tenancies go out to open market and the third could follow if the current tender process didn’t result in a commercial lease.

The tenancies in the $100m new council chambers building were suited to an all day food and beverage operator, another could be split into up to three separate tenancies for food or boutique retail and the third was suited for a “bespoke coffee shop”.