Neo Financial is expanding its footprint in downtown Calgary, leasing 50,000 square feet of office space across three floors in the Edison office tower, and 62,000 square feet of a converted empty retail floor in the Hudson’s Bay building.
The Calgary Herald reported the FinTech startup intends to move into its new place by the first quarter of this year as the former Hudson’s Bay retail floor undergoes renovations.
“Calgary’s downtown has a ton of potential, and it has all of the key ingredients that make it an ideal location to build a tech campus—something that’s much needed in Calgary.”
— Andrew Chau
Launched in 2019 by SkipTheDishes founders Andrew Chau and Jeff Adamson, alongside Kris Read, Neo Financial is a FinTech startup in the challenger bank space.
Neo’s credit card is issued by ATB Financial and backed by the Mastercard network. The Neo Savings account is provided by Concentra Bank, a CDIC member institution, and is eligible for CDIC deposit protection.
Neo also joined with Hudson’s Bay in a strategic partnership to bring its two million cardholders a new, digitally integrated Hudson’s Bay Mastercard. It claims it has partnered with over 5,000 retail and ecommerce companies in the country.
Its expansion within Calgary comes from the rapid growth of its team, doubling its workforce to over 400 employees in the past year. The new spaces are expected to accommodate upwards of 800 people with expansion space for up to 2,000.
RELATED: Manitoba grants Neo Financial $1.6 million to expand Winnipeg workforce
Embedded in Calgary’s downtown core, the office spaces are also centrally located, close to transit, residential communities, restaurants, and other amenities.
“Calgary’s downtown has a ton of potential, and it has all of the key ingredients that make it an ideal location to build a tech campus—something that’s much needed in Calgary,” said Chau. “We all benefit from growing Calgary’s roster of tech talent and businesses, and our goal is for Neo to be a driver in building that.”
The FinTech firm’s plans to expand its Winnipeg office is also currently underway, with the Government of Manitoba recently providing a $1.6 million grant to Neo Financial in November.
Geared with new capital, Neo intends to use the funds to provide skills training for 300 new employees at the company’s headquarters in Winnipeg’s downtown Exchange District launched in August.
In Winnipeg, Neo is leasing 10,000 square feet in the previous headquarters of SkipTheDishes, but the space has the flexibility to grow over 100,000 square feet.
