Santa Ana computer training school New Horizons Worldwide Inc. plans to move into larger quarters in Anaheim, where it is leasing the first two floors at Stadium Towers near Edison International Field.
The move comes even as New Horizons grapples with slackening demand for training from companies. New Horizons earlier this year laid off about 100 employees,7% of its staff,in response to its corporate clients spending less to train workers.
Eighty of the layoffs were spread across the company’s 29 U.S. locations while the other 20 occurred at its headquarters in Orange County.
Bob McMillan, the company’s chief financial officer, said he is cautiously optimistic.
“Tech hasn’t rebounded, but it hasn’t gotten any worse,” McMillan said.
New Horizons employs 250 people in Santa Ana and plans to add 25 in the next year.
McMillan said the company chose to move to Anaheim’s sports district “so we can direct our customers to a landmark,a high-profile address helps us,” he said.
“Anaheim is pretty centrally located to our customer base and our employee base, which runs from San Clemente to LA County,” McMillan said.
McMillan said the building and site should be ready later this month: “We’re still working on our tenant improvements to finish building out the space,” he said.
The company plans to wrap up its move by the middle of next month into a space spanning 83,000 square feet, compared with the 60,000 square feet at the firm’s digs in Santa Ana.
New Horizons recently put up for sale for $7.1 million a 7.8-acre parcel at 2000 E. First St. in Santa Ana, adjacent to the Xerox Centre, where it had planned to build a new headquarters.
McMillan said the company had acquired the land because it had been unable to find a landlord who could provide ample parking. Its current lease at 1231 E. Dyer Road will be up next year.
Arden Realty, which represents New Horizons at the company’s Burbank campus, suggested the company take a look at Stadium Towers.
“Since we found a site with ample parking, we no longer needed the Santa Ana land,” McMillan said. “And we would rather be a tenant than a building owner, since our core competency is running training centers, not owning buildings.”
At New Horizon’s new space, the company will have its training center on the first floor and its franchising world headquarters on the second floor. The space will include 23 classrooms with a typical student enrollment of about 300, according to McMillan.
Taylor Ng of the Ontario office of CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal for New Horizons. David Dowd and Greg Brown of the Irvine office of Cushman Wakefield represented Stadium Towers.
New Horizons Worldwide last year recorded $142 million in revenue, and this year has forecast revenue of $170 million. n
