A digital development firm that had planned to create 100 new jobs in Newcastle city centre is now in the process of being liquidated with debts topping £12m.
Japanese consultancy Monstarlab announced ambitions to recruit scores of skilled workers when it launched offices on the city's Grey Street in 2021. The new jobs had been earmarked to be in place by this year.
However, the firm's 海角视频 arm - Monstarlab 海角视频 Limited - is now being liquidated, with documents showing a deficit of more than £12.7m. Only a fraction of the pledged jobs was also created.
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Accounts for the business, which had established London offices prior to the Newcastle launch, show it been loss-making for several years, including pre-tax losses of £3.1m last year. In the summer, the firm's parent company, the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Monstarlab Holdings said it was slashing its workforce by 50% in the face of higher than expected costs and slow growth, including in Europe.
The firm moved in to space at 33 Grey Street in 2021 following support from inward investment agency Invest Newcastle, part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, citing the city's large and highly-skilled talent pool and its complement of tech businesses as key reasons. It was offered £680,000 through the North of Tyne Inward Investment Fund, but it is understood the funding was contingent on the creation of jobs.
Monstarlab had intended to recruit UX design, technology, digital strategy and delivery roles in the city, which had been its 29th office in addition to locations in 17 countries. A senior executive had said at the time of the launch that he was confident the Newcastle hub would be a success.
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: "It is disappointing to hear that Monstarlab is liquidating its 海角视频 operations. We worked with the company throughout 2021 as part of its search to find a new location and were proud of the fact that we beat off national competition to secure their investment. While the great majority of companies we have attracted to Newcastle since 2013 have gone on to do great things and provide many thousands of employment opportunities for our residents, not every company can be successful.
“In an increasingly competitive marketplace for foreign direct investment, it is important that we incentivise companies to land in our area. However, we are clear that any grant funding applications can only be claimed as and when a company creates the jobs it has forecast to deliver. We continue to work with our partners across the city to make Newcastle an attractive destination and we believe that we are on track for another strong year for inward investment."