Qlik moving HQ to King of Prussia from Radnor
The business software company, in a competitive market, has a new boss and, soon, new offices.
Qlik, the business-software firm, is moving its headquarters of 200-plus employees from 150 N. Radnor-Chester Rd. in Radnor to a 62,000-square-foot building at 211 Gulph Rd. in King of Prussia.
The former industrial space most recently occupied by Accenture, which has consolidated its offices to Berwyn, is owned by Boston-based Roseview and its partner Texas-based PMRG. The owners hired architect D2 Group to replace parts of the red-brick front wall with a glass curtain wall. "It's one of the most exciting spaces in the market, and one of the largest spaces in King of Prussia that leased last year," said broker Joe Corcoran of Flynn Co., which represented the owners.
"They're going to have outdoor collaboration areas, with fireplaces and seating. They have 12 solar-powered electric charging stations," said broker Perry Kaplan, managing director at Savills Studley, which represented Qlik.
Why the move? Qlik last month named Mike Capone, former boss at Medidata Solutions of New York and a past ADP executive, as its new CEO with a mandate to grow the business. Radnor staff will easily fit in the new space, according to Corcoran. The company has 2,000-plus employees overall.
Capone replaced longtime Qlik chief Lars Bjork, who stepped down last year. The company has been reorganizing its marketing and sales staff in the face of stiff competition. Under Bjork, Qlik developed its research and development organization in his native Sweden.
A publicly traded company from 2010-16, Qlik was taken private in a $3 billion purchase by buyout investor Thoma Bravo LLC of Chicago. Thoma Bravo's other Philadelphia-area companies include manufacturing process supply chain software maker Elemica in Wayne, human-resources software company Frontline Education in Malvern, and insurance software developer Internet Pipeline Inc. (iPipline) in Exton.
Suburban Philadelphia class-A office rents were flat last year at about $29 a square foot, according to Colliers International. Overall office vacancies in the Radnor-Main Line area were about 9 percent, compared with 13 percent in King of Prussia.
Members of a broker team at Savills Studley headed by senior managing director Tim Monahan represented Qlik.