News Opinion Sports Videos Community Schools Churches Announcements Obituaries Events Search/Archive Community Schools Churches Announcements Obituaries Calendar Contact Us Advertisements Search/Archive Public Notices

Avant LLC relocates to Oak Ridge


Avant LLC hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, November 8. Avant recently relocated its call center operations to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge.
Avant, LLC announced that the company has completed the relocation of its call center operations from nearby Louisville to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge. This completes a year-long series of planning discussions that started in fall 2018. The financial services company currently employs 200 people in the region and the expectation, according to Steve Massey, the site director, is that the number will grow to between 350 and 400 in 2020. Massey said, “Our move has been very successful so far and we are looking forward to growing with Oak Ridge into a bright future here.”

Avant.com is an online lending platform and leading provider of credit alternatives to middle-income consumers. The company also offers its technology solutions to bank and non-bank partners via its Powered By Avant product to provide innovative digital lending experiences.

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch commented, “We are happy to have a company of this caliber locate in Oak Ridge and we look forward to having them as a part of the business community.”

Steve Jones, an economic development consultant for the city of Oak Ridge added, “It was absolutely a pleasure to work with Avant. This is a significant investment in Oak Ridge and it’s good news for the work force in the area.”

Mark Harvey, Cowperwood Company vice president of operations and development, said, “The help of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College were absolutely invaluable resources to us as we worked this project. Together, they were able to give us key, detailed demographic information which allowed us to provide Avant with the data the company needed to make the decision to locate in Oak Ridge.”

“Projects like Avant prove that working together, through the City-Chamber Economic Development Initiative, works. We were pleased to play a role in this and are very appreciative of Avant’s confidence in our city and in our workforce,” said Parker Hardy, president and CEO of the chamber.