News
PR firm move global HQ to Basingstoke
Tuesday June 22nd, 2021
An international PR firm has moved its global headquarters to Basingstoke, and expects to hire 20 new staff from the area over the next 18 months.
Touchdown PR, which has 60 employees, has moved into new offices at The Square on Basing View after previously being based in Farnham.
The firm’s CEO, James Carter, cited Basingstoke’s reputation as being one of the country’s top tech hubs as a factor.
He said: “Being in Basingstoke allows us to attract colleagues from the local area who may previously have commuted into London for work.
“By offering a flexible working environment, with much less commuting time, we hope to appeal to a growing number of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey candidates who want to build their career in international PR.
“It provides us with a big differentiator to being just another London-based PR firm.”
The firm was recently ranked as the 7th largest technology PR firm in the UK, and the largest outside of London. It has offices across the USA, Europe and Asia, with Basingstoke acting as its global headquarters.
As previously reported, Basingstoke was named as one of the town’s that could be one of 2021’s “big tech hub” winners.
Technology magazine Wired revealed earlier this year the five tech hubs in the UK that are set to thrive after the pandemic – with Basingstoke listed as one of them. It said that when the pandemic forced companies to start working from home, it raised the question as to whether big tech firms need to be headquartered in big cities.
Continuing, the article reads: “Locations that were already on track to become digital hotspots pre-Covid could be set for a major boost.”
The article says: “With total deals worth £425 million between 2015 and 2018, Tech Nation named this Hampshire-based town the fourth-best place for tech investment in the UK last year.
“With rail journeys starting at 43 minutes into London Waterloo, this commuter town location is in a prime position to be one of 2021’s big tech hub winners.”
