Adobe says 'Brexit did not make us blink' as it expands UK base

Adobe will double the size of its London office and move into the White Collar Factory
Adobe will double the size of its London office and move into the White Collar Factory Credit: White Collar Factory

The technology giant Adobe is planning to expand in the UK in a vote of confidence after Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

The American software company is building a new sales and marketing office to cover Europe, the Middle East and Asia in London, planning to double the size of its current one. 

It is the latest post-referendum commitment to the UK by a major tech company,  after Apple reached a deal to create a new UK headquarters in Battersea last month, and comes after fears that Brexit could threaten London’s position as a tech hub.

Garrett Ilg, the company’s new president for EMEA and its head of worldwide enterprise sales, who is relocating to London as part of the move, said Adobe “did not blink” after June’s vote and that leaving the EU could be an opportunity.

“I don’t think the opportunities degrade in any which way, change can make people nervous but great things can happen,” Mr Ilg said. “We have a big worldwide view and [Brexit] didn’t cause anybody to have a second thought. It’s an interesting situation, the people have voted for change and change is hard but the way to succeed is to take a hard-right turn.”

Adobe, whose software includes Photoshop and Acrobat, has annual sales of over $5bn (£4bn), and has shifted from selling software upfront to offering subscriptions for online “cloud” services.

Mr Ilg said its “centre of excellence” in east London, double the size of a sales office in Fitzrovia, is Adobe’s “biggest investment in Europe right now”. Finance and back office operations will remain in Maidenhead.

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