Date Created: 24 November 2011
Avaloq's decision to invest here is testament both to our strong software skills base and Edinburgh's reputation as the leading UK financial centre outside of London
Swiss software company Avaloq will recruit at least 75 Scottish graduates among the 500 jobs it is creating at its new base in Edinburgh.
First Minister Alex Salmond met with senior representatives of the company as plans were officially unveiled for their new Scottish software development centre.
The development centre, in Edinburgh city centre, is expected to employ 500 people in its first five years, with 20 staff to start before the end of the year.
Mr Salmond said: "This will be only the second such site for Avaloq anywhere in the world and the first outside their home country of Switzerland.
"Avaloq have chosen to locate their new software development centre in Edinburgh and to recruit 75 graduates from our universities, which is testament to the high quality of Scottish education and enhances the strength of the city's international reputation for finance and IT services."
Francisco Fernandez, Avaloq's CEO, said:
"The UK is one of the most important strategic foreign markets for Avaloq. It is also a base for many important banking customers and Edinburgh is seen as the number two financial market in the country.
"We very much believe in working with the local talent to grow this operation and are optimistic about the forthcoming student fairs which will be used to identify the first Avaloq appointments."
Scottish Enterprise Chief Executive Lena Wilson said:
"We have worked extensively with Avaloq to secure this investment in Scotland, which will bring 500 new jobs to Edinburgh.
"Working in collaboration with our public sector partners as part of Team Scotland, we successfully fought to bring these jobs to Scotland. In doing so, Scotland beat a number of other international locations being considered, and Avaloq's decision to invest here is testament both to our strong software skills base and Edinburgh's reputation as the leading UK financial centre outside of London."
Avaloq was established more than 25 years ago and now supplies 75 banks in 20 countries with specialist software. The company is headquartered in Zurich in Switzerland.
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