By Joshua Burd
A financial technology firm could be coming to Jersey City after being offered a 10-year, $5.6 million state tax credit package to move its headquarters from Lower Manhattan.
The Economic Development Authority has awarded the incentive to Pearl Capital Business Funding LLC, a firm specializing in short-term cash advances. The approval, which came at the EDA’s monthly board meeting Tuesday, is tied to a proposal for the company to lease 13,250 square feet at 525 Washington Blvd. in the city’s Newport section.
Pearl Capital has told the authority it has outgrown its headquarters in Manhattan and was searching for a new space for 75 employees. The firm has identified an alternative 11,363-square-foot location elsewhere in New York City, but the EDA determined Jersey City to be the more expensive option.
Founded in 2010, Pearl Capital provides short-term capital advance solutions for underbanked and credit-challenged businesses, according to the EDA. The firm markets and sells its services through individual sales organizations and directly to merchants through electronic media, telemarketing and other programs using its internal sales force.
Acquired in 2015 by a private equity firm, Capital Z Partners, Pearl Capital has provided more than 23,000 financings to small businesses across various industries.
The EDA, which offered the incentive under the Grow New Jersey program, has projected that bringing the company to Jersey City would generate a net benefit to the state of $112 million over 20 years.
