DayBreak, an American hi-tech company that stared operating from Malta in December and which plans to create 1,000 jobs by 2014, is considering being based at Malta International Airport’s business centre, instead of SmartCity, owner Doug Monahan told The Times Business.

Last month Mr Monahan told this newspaper it was likely DayBreak would be based at SmartCity, saying this option made “the most sense”. However, this week he said he has been focusing his efforts on the launch of his sales team in the US more than getting office space in Malta. He added: “I’m still speaking with SmartCity, but also recently looked at some office space at the airport.”

Mr Monahan suggested SmartCity should embark on an aggressive marketing strategy to fill it with US businesses, saying he has spoken to Jin Choi, head of the SmartCity Malta operation regarding DayBreak assisting SmartCity with the introduction of their services to US based firms.

Mr Monahan insists he is going ahead with his plans for his Malta project and is standing by his job creation figures.

“I stand by what I originally said about 100 employees in Malta by the end of 2011 and 1,000 by the end of 2014. We’ve lined up the attorneys to facilitate our success in Malta – have hundreds of resumes of potential staff members and are moving forward as quickly as possible.

“Please remember, we are funding this operation completely out of cash flow – the advantage is we never run the risk of losing the backing of the venture capital community and shutting down – the disadvantage is each step of the way has to be meticulously planned and executed.”