Global publishing consortium The Agora Companies is to add 135 new jobs at its offices in Portlaw, Co Waterford, and in Waterford City. Current employment stands at 270 people.

The new roles will be primarily in software development, but also in digital publishing  and in technical and customer support. After the expansion, the Waterford offices will be the largest hub located outside the US campus in Baltimore, which is made up of 13 buildings and 1,300 employees.

The Agora is a consortium of more than 40 media companies around the world, which the consortium says have one major characteristic in common – openness to leading-edge and alternative ideas, including creative marketing ideas. 

According to the company: “What began in 1978 as a publishing startup in a converted urban row-house has evolved into a network that produces and markets over 300 financial, health and lifestyle publications. This year these will reach more than four million people around the globe.”

Agora founder Bill Bonner (pictured) commented: “After 20 years in Waterford, we continue our commitment to Ireland’s south east which has established itself as a strategic location for a number of multinational corporations and continues to capture talent from the capital with the offer of a better quality of life. The Agora Companies have established themselves in communities globally and are driven by the same mission, to provide a source of responsible and genuinely independent advice and opinion.”

In Association with

The companies in the consortium are each independently operated, based in Baltimore, Maryland, and Delray Beach, Florida, and in cities in 16 other countries including London, Paris, Melbourne, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Mumbai. The group first located its International Living magazine publishing base in Waterford in 1998.

ISEDO Report

In a new report, the Ireland South East Development Office says that 5,900 new jobs have been created across Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford in the past year.

These investments include substantial projects from global firms such as MSD, Bausch + Lomb and Glanbia. Companies launching or expanding in the region include Immedis (Kilkenny), Sabrina Manufacturing (Littleton, Co Tipperary) and Carne Financial (Kilkenny and Wexford). Other recent FDI projects include GrandPad (Gorey) and Allstate Sales Group (Waterford), while last week LMC announced the creation of 200 jobs at the former Procter & Gamble plant in Nenagh.

Other positive developments highlighted by ISEDO include the government’s agreement in principle to provide €5m of Exchequer funding towards a €12m runway extension at Waterford Airport.

The ISEDO report highlights the string of  developments currently underway or at an advanced planning stage in the region. These include Trinity Wharf in Wexford; the Abbey Quarter in Kilkenny; the North Quays in Waterford and new advanced technology buildings being developed by IDA Ireland in Carlow and Waterford.

The new €400m M11 Enniscorthy bypass is being officially opened on July 18, and the €250m N25 New Ross bypass near completion.

ISEDO director Alan Quirke stated: “Looking across the five counties of the region, we see very significant public and private sector investments that are not only generating employment now but also positioning the region for growth in the years to come. We also see the South East appealing more and more to businesses and individuals looking for an alternative to the increasingly congested and prohibitively expensive greater Dublin area.

“For businesses, they can join the community of growth companies competing globally from the South East while saving at least one-third in costs compared to Dublin. Our analysis shows that professionals returning to the region could have as much as 40% extra disposable income.”