London Inc. Weekly

London Inc. Weekly: A summary of regional business news from the past week

Photo: A group that includes the London Chamber and city politicians is making a renewed push for improved rail service in SWO

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Weekly Regional Business Intelligence

Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.

Autoneum plant to close by end of 2026

The local auto manufacturing sector was dealt another blow this week as Swiss parts supplier Autoneum announced it would be closing its London facility at Huron and Clarke roads and consolidating operations to its Tillsonburg plant. A company spokesperson told CBC News London the decision was made because of a “decline in automotive industry volumes, combined with changes in customer production patterns.” The closure is expected to put around 136 jobs at risk, although the union representing 118 of those workers said it expects some of those workers to take roles in Tillsonburg. “[We’re] frustrated, because we almost feel helpless,” said Unifor director Luis Domingues. “We hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but the company has consistently been reducing their employment levels.”

The upshot: Choosing its words carefully, the company didn’t come right out and say the closure is due to tariffs, but it’s practically impossible to separate tariffs from a “decline in automotive industry volumes” and “changes in customer production patterns.” Autoneum’s London plant produces automotive carpets and wheelhouse liners for assembly plants, and two of its major local customers — CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll and the Ford plant in Oakville — are either closed (in the case of CAMI) or currently being retooled (in the case of the Ford plant), so the timing isn’t surprising. For his part, Domingues believes another major job loss in the auto sector means the federal government should get tough on automakers moving jobs outside of the country. “As long as our governments stand idly by and let this occur, it’s not going to be a pretty sight here for Canadian auto producers and workers, whether it’s for the assembly plants or the auto parts,” he said.

Read more: CTV News London | CBC News London

Visitor Queue acquired by Leadinfo

Visitor Queue, a London-based website visitor tracking platform, has been acquired by a Dutch firm Leadinfo, the two parties announced this week. According to Leadinfo, which is a subsidiary of European hosting and cloud solutions firm team.blue, Visitor Queue is its first North American acquisition, saying the deal “brings together two established providers in the website visitor intelligence space.” Visitor Queue’s CEO Nick Hollinger said “joining forces with Leadinfo means our customers will benefit from expanded resources, faster innovation and deeper platform capabilities,” while Leadinfo CEO Quirijn Kleppe added that Visitor Queue had built “a strong reputation and customer base.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The upshot: For Hollinger, the move seems to be a tidy exit package, eight years after launching the company. “It was a hell of a journey — full of highs and lows — and it wouldn’t have been possible without an incredible group of teammates, mentors, investors, friends and families,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “VQ challenged and shaped me through my 20s, and I’m proud to be handing it off to the amazing team at Leadinfo. I’m confident they’ll take it to the next level.” Hollinger says he is working on a new company, which is “continuing to grow, and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

Read more: Pulse 2.0 | Leadinfo

New Walmart Supercentre coming to south end

Walmart Canada announced this week it is building a new Walmart Supercentre in the city’s southwest quadrant at Wonderland Road South and Wharncliffe Road South. The new location, clocking in at around 13,000 square metres, is set to open in 2028, and is part of a $4.7-billion Canadian expansion plan for the mega retailer. “As the nearby community continues to grow, including several planned developments nearby, we’re proud to bring Walmart Canada’s assortment and everyday low prices to the community,” the company said in a press release. Ali Soufan, president of York Developments (which owns the commercial property) told The London Free Press that the store was “a natural fit for both the commercial corridor.”

The upshot: The question some people were asking when the news broke is whether the south end of the city is going to be over-indexed on Walmarts, given there is an existing Walmart unit just a few kilometres away at White Oaks Mall. Retail analyst Bruce Winder, interviewed by CTV News London, said those concerns are valid, but there is likely enough population to make it work. “It’s going to cannibalize a little bit of the existing Walmart, but certainly there’s probably room for two. Five kilometres feels a little tight, but you never know,” Winder said. “It’s probably going to make sense over time.” The general manager of the White Oaks location told CTV Walmart Canada has plans for additional investment in the White Oaks store as well. The company says it is in ‘ right now, likely sensing a market opportunity as Canadians grapple with the higher costs of goods.

Read more: London Free Press | CTV News London

Hard Rock Hotel London lands spot on Forbes Travel Guide

The Hard Rock Hotel London landed a major plaudit this week when it showed up on the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide, a global list of high-end travel destinations. It’s the first time a London hotel property has cracked the list — something director of sales Lina Manuel-Merchant says “puts London on the map for tourism.” The listing itself is sparse for now — after a business is added to the list, an anonymous reviewer is dispatched to the property to then assign a star rating (that will happen over the next few months). “We admire this hotel’s colourful character and immersive music theme, and we look forward to it earning its first star award through our incognito inspection process,” said Hermann Elger, CEO of Forbes Travel Guide. Martha Leach, general manager of the hotel and partner in the 100 Kellogg Lane complex, said the inclusion on the list is “a reflection of our team’s passion for delivering unforgettable, music-infused moments to every guest.”

The upshot: Not only is it the first London hotel to land on the list, it’s also only the second hotel outside of Toronto to be included (the other being the Bruce Hotel in Stratford). The Hard Rock Hotel London joins the ranks of properties like Toronto’s Four Seasons, the Park Hyatt and the Shangri-La Hotel — all swanky destinations. “I’ve lived, eaten, breathed London my entire life. I’ve raised my children here and we have lots of family here,” Manuel-Merchant told CBC News London. “What really excites me is that now we can speak to the world and just say, ‘Have you heard of London, Ontario? It’s a Forbes property.’” The next step, though, is to nail the inspection. Like the vaunted Michelin star system for restaurants, the reviewer could show up at any time (so, if you want to experience really great hospitality service, the next few months might be your time to visit).

London housing starts record 25 per cent dip in 2025

2025 was many things, but one thing it was not was a good year for housing starts in the London area. According to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the region, inclusive of St. Thomas and Middlesex County, saw 3,106 housing starts last year, the third-worst year in the past decade. The total number of starts dropped by more than 25 per cent compared to 2024, when the city notched 4,171 starts. That’s a sharp decline, even for struggling Ontario, where a 13 per cent drop in year-over-year starts garnered headlines earlier this week (in comparison, housing starts nationally were up 5.6 per cent in 2025). If there’s a silver lining of some sort, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis tried to find it, telling The London Free Press that “there’s still lots of confidence in the London market, especially in the multi-family residential segment, both for townhouses and street towns, but also in the higher-density high rises and rental units,” he said. “There’s lots of permissions granted — now it’s turning those permissions into shovels in the ground.”

The upshot: Even amid the full-court press to address the housing crisis, we’re likely to see some interesting market dynamics play out over the next few years. Regionally, it’s been pretty much all about purpose-built rentals, many of them in the form of large apartment tower projects, and we’re already seeing the rental market start to tighten and landlords working harder to get tenants. As additional under-construction units hit the market — not to mention the multitude of proposed highrise projects that have received city approval and are waiting in the wings — we’ll get to see the government’s supply-based filtering theory put to the test. On the single-family home side, the sector continues to search for a light at the end of the tunnel. With just 451 new homes started last year, down from 564 in 2024 and 514 in 2023, economic uncertainty and global concerns continue to keep buyers sidelined. “It was a year that was marked by rental construction,” said the CMHC’s southern Ontario economist Anthony Passarelli. “The rest of the home construction industry, which focuses on ground-oriented houses for ownership, is still very, very slow, which is why the overall number was weaker.”