VisaNow moving HQ amid quick growth
VisaNow, which helps firms secure visas for their workers, plans to double its workforce at 230 W. Monroe in Chicago's Loop.
With a $16 million cash infusion and plans to more than double its workforce within 18 months, visa processing firm VisaNow is moving its Chicago headquarters.
VisaNow signed a lease for about 30,000 square feet at 230 W. Monroe St., with an option to add another 20,000 square feet in the Loop tower, CEO Bob Meltzer said. VisaNow helps companies secure visas for their workers.
The 16-year-old company, which works with visa applicants to prepare their documentation and submits the packages to the U.S. State Department, plans to move there in May. It will move from about 15,000 square feet at 350 N. LaSalle St. and 11,000 square feet of short-term sublease space in 200 W. Monroe, which is next door to 230 W. Monroe.
The 11-year lease comes as VisaNow prepares to double its head count from 80 to 160 employees in the next 12 to 18 months.
Revenue has been growing at 50 percent annually, the company said in November, when Crain's reported VisaNow raised $16.1 million from Cambridge, Mass.-based venture fund General Catalyst Partners.
Revenue has been growing at 50 percent annually, the company said in November, when Crain's reported VisaNow raised $16.1 million from Cambridge, Mass.-based venture fund General Catalyst Partners.
FUNDING A CATALYST
“The recent funding from General Catalyst Partners has given us the ability to ramp up hiring (and) invest in technology, sales and marketing efforts to take advantage of a pretty significant opportunity in the immigration services industry,” Meltzer said in an email. “It's an exciting time and we're looking forward to being all under the same roof.”
The 29-story tower at 230 W. Monroe is owned by Accesso Partners, formerly known as Beacon Investment Properties. The Hallandale Beach, Fla.-based firm paid $122 million for the tower in July, after buying 200 W. Monroe for $100 million in May.
VisaNow is leasing all of the 27th floor and part of the 28th, said Brad Serot, an executive vice president at Los Angeles-based CBRE who represented the tenant.
“The new owners were really proactive to get a deal done,” Serot said. “Rents were in line with the market, but more than simply the economics, they were very hands-on. The owner was on every call and very much involved in the negotiation. They seem to be in dealmaking mode.”
