HubSpot has hit a signage snag at its new Dublin docklands office

The US giant hopes to emblazon the 112,000 sq ft unit with four signs, including a ‘logo sculpture’.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

HUBSPOT HAS HIT a snag in its attempt to emblazon its new Dublin office with signage and a “logo sculpture” after city officials declared the tech giant’s planning application invalid.

In November 2018, the sales and marketing software behemoth announced that it had taken a 20-year lease on all the office accommodation at 1 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in the capital’s docklands, due to commence next month. The building provides approximately 112,000 sq ft of floor space.

Earlier this month, HubSpot submitted an application seeking approval to install four new signs at the site including an “illuminated acrylic sign at high level” and a “logo sculpture” at the entrance courtyard.

However, Dublin City Council has since declared the application invalid for three reasons. It did not refuse permission.

Planners said HubSpot hadn’t provided correct information in a newspaper notice for how punters can access planning application documents. They also said that the drawings submitted by the applicant were “in contravention of the minimum requirements” and asked the company to file fresh ones.

The council ordered that HubSpot must submit a conservation method statement or written report that outlines the “rationale and justification of the development” and also explains how the project has been designed ”to have regard to the character of the main dwelling, which is a protected structure”.

Recruitment

HubSpot was founded in Boston by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shan in 2006 and now has around 2,700 employees worldwide, with offices in the US, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Berlin. It generated sales of more than $513 million last year. It recorded turnover of $151 million during the first three months of 2019.

Dublin has been home to HubSpot’s European headquarters since 2013. In April 2016, the company opened a new office at One Dockland Central before taking on additional space at Two Dockland Central in July 2018 to facilitate its growth in the Europe and Middle East market.

In a previous interview with this website, global recruitment director Declan Fitzgerald said the firm – which at the time employed 600 people in Dublin – could hit 1,000 staff, although finding the right people to fill new roles is a constant challenge.

HubSpot is not the first multinational to encounter problems with city planners over signage. Last year, Fora reported that job search giant Indeed had been locked in a fight with the council over an eight-foot illuminated sign at its St Stephen’s Green offices.

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