News & Events
Economic Barometer Newsletter
Fall 2005
Headline News
Fifty Area Companies Featured on Inc. 500 List of Fastest-Growing Firms. For the ninth consecutive year, the Greater Washington region has the nation’s largest number of fastest-growing private companies, according to Inc. Magazine. The region set a record this year with 50 area companies on the 2005 Inc. 500 list, an increase from 40 firms in 2004 and 47 in 2003. Of the 50 area companies listed, the top two industry sectors are IT services and defense contracting. Other industries represented are: consulting, software, and telecomm. Details
Commercial Office Space - Metro DC Office Vacancy & Average Asking Rents at a Glance:
New from GWI
“Greater Washington Bioscience Industry Overview” is a new four-page brochure highlighting the region’s bioscience resources, new facilities, and major companies. In this handy publication, you’ll find:
Download the Bioscience Brochure or Request a Hard Copy
Economic Trends at a Glance
Housing Demand - Across Greater Washington, commercial and real estate markets are very strong. One key indicator is the market for new homes:
Source: Washington Post, Oct. 17, 2005
Venture Capital Update: More Deals, Higher Dollars to Tech Sector. In the second quarter of 2005, there were 59 venture capital deals in the Greater Washington region totaling $256 million, the highest quarterly total since 2001. Most of this funding was allocated to two industries: $76 million to software companies (up over $47 million in Q2, 2004) and $74 million to telecomm firms (up over $29 million in Q2, 2004). View Report Source: Money Tree Survey, Pricewaterhouse
Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Market Pulse, Third Quarter, 2005
Recent Relocations
Major Merger – Following FCC approval of the Sprint and Nextel merger on August 12, Sprint moved its headquarters from Overland Park, KS to Nextel’s campus in Reston, VA – the operational center remains in Kansas. With a net income of $10.9 billion in the second quarter of 2005, Sprint Nextel provides service to 44.4 million wireless customers. The newly merged company has approximately 8,000 employees in the Greater Washington region, including recently relocated President and CEO Gary Forsee. Details
Keeping our Airports Safe – Cernium Inc., a developer and provider of behavior-recognition software and security industry systems, recently moved its headquarters from St. Louis to Greater Washington. "This is where the federal government has the most visibility with this kind of technology. And the access to talent is phenomenal," said President and Chief Executive Craig A. Chambers. The company said its product can zero in on images such as a fallen person or an abandoned backpack. The privately held company has raised $7.5 million in new capital; since 2001, the firm has raised a total of $15 million. More Info
Hackers Beware – A woman-owned provider of network security and computer forensics services, Emerging Technologies Group, recently relocated from Alabama to the Greater Washington area. "This was a logical move because so many of our existing customers are here, the majority of our workforce is home-based here and the business opportunities are greatly increasing in this area," said Tiffanny Gates, the company's president and CEO. ETG works with defense and intelligence agencies, and is expanding its business areas to include commercial litigation support, e-discovery, data recovery, and due diligence operations. Details
Did you know?
More than 50 colleges and universities are based in Greater Washington, employing more than 65,000 full-time equivalent employees. Learn more about higher education in the region by downloading GWI’s 2005 Regional Report
The Greater Washington Economic Barometer is a quarterly communication from GWI for business professionals on regional economic trends and news. For more information on the Economic Barometer or to be added to the distribution list, email greaterwashingtoninitiative@bot.org. To opt-out of this list, please reply to this message with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For regional statistics and news, visit our web site at www.greaterwashington.org. GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.
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