High-Tech Firm's 50,000 SF Partly Primed for Sublease

AUSTIN-Hill Partners Inc.’s 206 Wild Basin 2 will have a tenant for all of its space when it opens later this month. The building, which has two stories of office space atop two floors of parking, has been leased by growing technology company 724 Solutions Inc.

The building, developed by Austin-based Hill Partners, has 50,000 rentable sf. 724 Solutions will occupy 20,000 sf immediately and put the other 30,000 sf up for sublease, Brooke Bulow, a 724 Solution spokeswoman, tells GlobeSt.com. “That other piece we’re going to sublease,” she says, “but it does give us the opportunity to grow.” It does not yet have a tenant.

724 Solutions is moving on up the hill from 17,000 sf in 110 Wild Basin, also developed and leased by Hill Partners. The company has dual headquarters in Toronto and Austin. Last year, Toronto-based 724 Solutions bought Tantau Software Inc., which was founded and based in Austin, in an all-stock deal valued at $375 million. The company develops and sells software that allows financial institutions to offer wireless banking services to their customers.

“We think the move really solidifies our commitment to Austin,” Bulow says. “Especially since the beginning of the year we’ve grown from 50 employees to 65 down here and we’ve been real involved in the community through the Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation.”

Tantau was founded by a group of former Tandem Computers Inc. executives after Compaq Computer Corp. acquired Tandem. John Sims, Tantau’s chief executive, continues as 724 Solutions’ CEO, and Harald Sammer, Tantau’s chief technology officer, also is 724 Solutions’ CTO.

724 Solutions had a net loss of $62.8 million on $14 million in revenue in the quarter ending June 30. The loss was attributed to higher costs for amortization, research and development, stock compensation and marketing. For the same quarter in 2000, its net loss was $14 million on $3.9 million in revenue.