JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville's presence in London is opening doors for big business at home.
Mayor Lenny Curry announced Thursday that London-based Resource Solutions will add 75 new jobs in Jacksonville over the next three years.
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The city closed the deal pretty quickly. Curry and members of the Jax Chamber visited the United Kingdom last month during the Jaguars' trip overseas. They said they met with several other companies that have expressed interest in bringing their business to Jacksonville.
Former Mayor John Delaney, the 2015 Jax Chamber chair, told News4Jax during the business trip in October that he had high hopes of bringing business to Jacksonville.
"It's worked out great. Even the first year, the Chamber brought back some jobs, and so now, again, we've got more coming," Delaney said. "Business is about relationships, so that's what the Chamber of Commerce and City Hall have really been working on. So now we're getting calls in advance of coming to London. 'Hey, can we meet with you? We want to understand more.' So Jacksonville's on the map."
In addition to the Jaguars beating the Bills during the NFL international series game, Jacksonville took advantage of the opportunity and scored by winning over new business.
"What we established very quickly was the appetite of the Mayor's Office and Chamber of Commerce was something that really made us feel like this is a town that wanted people like us to come and be there and have a business there," said Janine Chidlow, a managing director with Resource Solutions. "That was a major swing for us in the decision making."
The Global Service Center for Resource Solutions, a U.K.-based recruitment outsourcing organization, will create 75 new jobs over the next three years and will total a $4.2 million annual payroll in addition to benefits.
Resource Solutions currently has operations in 24 countries, including Global Service Centers in the U.K., South Africa and India.
"It's powerful, the idea that we're just a few weeks back from our trip to London and we've got this announcement," Curry said. "I'll tell you, we had a lot of long days when we were over there, a lot of long mornings. We met with a number of companies."
Curry credited the Jaguars for putting Jacksonville on the map and furthering economic development opportunities.
"You see people over there that are fans of our team, and that's the beginning of knowledge of our city," Curry said. "Now we can say we have a company here which will open up a whole new conversation."
Resource Solutions has not said where the company will be located but said it plans to start hiring soon and will be up and running early next year.