Navan’s loss is Trim’s gain after planning obstacles bury FinTech hub plans

Navan’s loss will be Trim’s gain as over 750 jobs planned for Navan are now destined to be moved to Trim.
Navan native, Noel Moran has announced a significant investment of around €50 million into a new, modern FinTech hub in Trim which, when fully developed, will create up to 750 jobs.

The news has come as a blow to Navan - the initial location for the investment - but planning restrictions at the proposed site due  its archaeological significance brought the project  to a halt.
Prepaid Financial Services announced this week that it is creating a further 50  new jobs in Meath and that is headquarters will soon move to a new three storey building in Trim.
The company is also creating further vacancies in its London and Malta offices.

This week’s jobs announcement is in addition to 50 roles that were filled earlier in the year.
The company, founded by Noel Moran has quickly outgrown its existing office in the Navan Business Park and will shortly be moving to Trim.

However, Mr Moran had originally planned to create the FinTech hub at site known locally as The Mollies in Navan, but the project ran into serious planning difficulties because of the archaeological significance of the site.
The proposed site was south of the Blackwater, on the site of the old British military barracks and De La Salle School off the Inner Relief Road. Mr Moran owns the site on the Inner Relief Road, which saw service as a barracks, school and textile factory. If the proposal had gone ahead, Meath County Council planned to sell the adjacent Kells Road car park for use in the project.

“Our best efforts to remain in Navan didn’t materialise due to a lack of suitable office space for our numbers, and issues that arose with planning, preventing us from progressing the proposed development. However, Navan’s loss is Trim’s gain, and due to rapid growth, we push on with a new development plan."

The company is seeking to attract technology professionals, and particularly, Developers and IT staff intent on developing their career in a fast-growing environment. Vacancies are across the business and include Software Developers, DevOps Engineers, iOS and Android App Developers, Full Stack Developers and Front-End Developers. PFS will commence interviews immediately. 
Cllr Noel French said he was absolutely delighted at the news which he described as a huge boost for Trim.

“These are ideal jobs for Trim. They have low impact on the environment and will reduce commuting and the cars on the road.”
Earlier this year, Mr Moran had warned that the planned FinTech hub for Navan was under threat because of planning restrictions at The Mollies.

The future of the development hinged on archaeological reports concerning the old medieval abbey on the site. 
He said at the time if the reports insisted certain walls had to be preserved, it would mean the end of the project “and it will continue to be used as a drug site in Navan and will probably never be developed by anyone.”

He had spoken of his frustration and the fact the company had invested a huge amount of time and effort into the project over the previous 18 months.
“A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes. The local council have been very supportive and we have worked together with the council to remove all barriers to make it happen. To date, we have invested over €500,000 into the project but we have nothing to show for it,” he said.

He had pointed out the Mollies project would also have created ancilliary jobs for the town.
“The numbers we are envisaging would bring benefit to many other local businesses in the town. All the employees have to eat and have lunch somewhere, as well as shop and drink. There would be opportunities for everyone to benefit,” he said. 

The current County Council car park at Abbeylands which formed part of the site, had always been earmarked by the council for a statement building, but there are no current plans for its development. It is not known what Mr Moran plans to do with the section of that site that he owns.