US tech giant Hubspot is close to signing a deal for a new European headquarters office in the Sobo district in the Dublin Docklands, the Sunday Independent can reveal.The marketing software specialist is understood to be in advanced negotiations with Hibernia Reit with a view to leasing all 115,000 sq ft (10,683sqm) of space at 1 Sir John Rogerson's Quay (1SJRQ) for a rent in the region of €60 per sq ft. 1SJRQ is due for completion in the coming months, along with Hibernia Reit's scheme at 2 Windmill Lane.

Hubspot's move to Sir John Rogerson's Quay from its existing EMEA headquarters suggests it is intent on growing its Dublin-based workforce substantially. While the company employs more than 500 people at Hibernia Reit's One and Two Docklands Central buildings on Guild Street in the IFSC, its new offices at 1SJRQ will have the capacity for more than 900 employees.

Founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in June 2006 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hubspot has more than 48,000 customers worldwide.

The company recently introduced a new product line called Service Hub, which was developed in Dublin. The new product allowed Hubspot to add customer service to its offerings of customer relationship management (CRM), as well as sales and marketing tools.

News of Hubspot's expansion into Sobo - a name conceived by developers and standing for South Of Beckett O'Casey bridges - comes as another of the world's biggest CRM providers, Salesforce, moves to increase the scale of it Dublin operation significantly.

The company recently agreed heads of terms with developer Johnny Ronan's RGRE on a deal which will see the tech giant lease all 500,000 sq ft (46,184sqm) of the office space RGRE is building at Spencer Dock.

The offices will accommodate between 4,000 and 5,000 staff. Salesforce employs 965 people at its EMEA headquarters in Sandyford in south Dublin.

Sunday Indo Business