FSC Inc., which administers two specialty financial services firms and does business as Fifth Street, is moving its headquarters and 50 employees from downtown White Plains to Greenwich, where it plans to add another 46 positions over the next decade.
The move from 10 Bank St., which comes with the help of $5 million in Connecticut state loans and grants, was recently announced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
The move came as a surprise to Westchester County officials who were unaware of the finance company”™s plans to relocate until it was too late.
“The county was not contacted about the potential relocation,” said Eileen Mildenberger, the county”™s economic development director. “The county, working along with New York state, would have welcomed the opportunity to retain them in the county.”
No negotiations can take place at this point because plans have already been set in motion, said Donna Greene, the county”™s deputy communications director.
“Once an offer has been made by Connecticut, we cannot make a counteroffer or ”˜poach,”™ as it is called. However, we are in the process of reaching out to the company so we understand what its reasons for leaving are.”
FSC is administrator of Fifth Street Finance Corp. and Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. Both companies are publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
“We are thrilled to relocate our operations to the state of Connecticut,” said FSC CEO Leonard Tannenbaum. He said the Fifth Street platform has a history of working with Connecticut-based companies and commended Malloy for supporting “the continued growth of Greenwich as a major financial services hub.”
According to the governor”™s office, FSC will purchase and build out a 44,000-square-foot office space in Greenwich; however, it did not name the property FSC has chosen to move to.
To support the move, the state Department of Economic and Community Development will provide a 10-year, $4 million loan, a $500,000 grant to fund job training and a $500,000 grant for the installation of a fuel cell, wind or solar-powered energy system at the Greenwich site. Up to $3 million of the loan may be forgiven, contingent on FSC meeting hiring goals.
“Fifth Street”™s move strengthens Connecticut”™s competitive position in this global industry and demonstrates that Connecticut continues to be a preferred destination for firms that could locate their business almost anywhere,” Malloy said in the release.
Additional reporting by Patrick Gallagher.
