The Southwestern Ontario municipality “ticks all the boxes.” With great talent, amazing work spaces and an incredible quality of life.
In a recent report prepared by CBRE one of Canada’s largest firms specializing in commercial real estate, found London Ontario scored a 40% increase in technology jobs during 5 years.
The powerhouse commercial real estate company should know. Their mandate is to conduct research across Canada leveraging industry knowledge to meet the needs of their commercial real estate clients not only in Canada but globally.
When their technology based clients are looking to seize competitive advantages and exceed goals through industry-leading real estate strategies the research conducted by CBRE is crucial to business.
Key findings included some Big Opportunity Outside Big Cities and London Ontario was on that list. Proof is when Carfax Canada who provides automobile history reports decided to reinvest in London and expand the former Kellogg plant in London. Carfax empowers millions of Canadians with insights to make better decisions about vehicles. The company began in London in 2000 and has seen steady growth as the way people access information has evolved. “Our team is looking forward to moving into a new and exciting space that matches our innovative spirit and culture,” says Mark Rousseau, President and GM of CARFAX Canada. “Staying in London was important to us because of the access to remarkable talent.”
London is Affordable
The CBRE analysis entitled “Scoring Canadian Tech Talent” is a comprehensive report of labour market conditions, cost and quality for highly-skilled tech workers. This study also provides insight into the quality of tech talent and how their growth patterns are impacting cities and real estate markets across Canada.
Office rents, while rising well above historical market averages in gateway markets due to increased tech demand, account for a much smaller share of a firm’s expenses. In Canada, small capitalization tech firms reported real estate costs on average at 4.8% of their total annual expenses according to another recent study by CBRE Research. Tech firms instead place a higher value on space finding in specific desirable submarkets or nodes where talent is ample and there is the presence of a tech ecosystem.
Combining wage and real estate costs provides insight into what a tech company might pay to operate in a specific city. London placed third overall as the most affordable costs to operate.
