11 Companies with Headquarters in Orlando

We have compiled a list of 11 companies with headquarters in Orlando for those live in the iconic city, or who wish to visit, move, and/or work there. But why Orlando of all cities? Orlando is one of the major industrial centers in America and the home base for many big companies in various sectors like banking, real estate, restaurants, etc. In addition to this, many big companies have a major presence in Orlando, contributing greatly to the economy of the city.

Orlando, which is known as both “The City Beautiful” and “The Theme Park Capital of the World”, is one of the busiest tourist destinations in America, with more than 50 million tourists visiting the city each year on average. Orlando grew as a city during the 1980’s thanks to Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)‘s Walt Disney World Resort, which contributed greatly in the development of the city following its inauguration in 1971. Orlando is also home to the second-largest convention center in America, the Orange County Convention Center.

 – Don’t miss the list of 10 Companies that Disney Owns.

Apart from its tourist attractions, Orlando is also a major industrial center in America, with more than 150 companies in various sectors having a presence in the city. Some of the major companies in Orlando include Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC). Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), Mitsubishi Power Systems, Siemens Ltd (NSE:SIEMENS), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ), and Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN).

To compile this article, we gathered a list of more than 20 companies with headquarters in Orlando. Of those, the public companies (six companies) were given a place on the list of 11 companies with headquarters in Orlando. The remaining five spots were given to the largest private companies based on their size and presence in the city. The companies are not ranked, but are listed solely in alphabetical order.

Now then, let’s check out the list of 11 companies with headquarters in Orlando, beginning on the next page.

CNL Financial Group, Inc

Sector: Real Estate Investments

CNL Financial Group, Inc is one of the biggest private real estate companies based in Orlando. CNL Financial Group, Inc was established way back in 1973 by its current Executive Chairman, James Seneff, with a $5,000 loan, which was used to buy assets in Orlando’s downtown at $3 per Sq. Ft. More than 40 years later, CNL Financial Group, Inc has grown into the 33rd-largest private company (Florida Trend ranking in 2013) in Florida, with assets worth more than $34 billion and investments worth more than $15 billion in real estate. Being an established private company in the investment management and real estate sectors, CNL Financial Group, Inc. is now looking to spread its wings and invest in other products in order to diversify.

In addition to this, CNL Financial Group, Inc also has bought many hotels and resorts in and around Orlando. After buying a majority stake in Alliance Bankshares, it was renamed to CNL Bank. CNL Bank has its headquarters at CNL Center City Common, a 250-foot tall skyscraper in downtown Orlando. Following the construction of the CNL Center in 1999, CNL has since constructed CNL Center II (a 12-story building) and announced plans to construct CNL Center III.

CNL Financial Group, Inc employs between 500 and 1,000 people in Orlando.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Sector: Restaurant

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is one of the largest public full-service restaurant chains headquartered in Greater Orlando, with more than 1,500 company-owned and operated restaurants in the U.S and Canada. Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) provides employment to more than 150,000 people in North America. Major restaurants under Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), some of which also have locations in Orlando include:

• Olive Garden – $3.8 billion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 843 units
• Longhorn Steakhouse – $1.6 billion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 481 units
• Seasons 52 Fresh Grill – $254 milion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 40 units
• Bahama Breeze – $218 milion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 37 units
• Yard House – $507 milion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 65 units
• The Capital Grille – $408 milion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 54 units
• Eddie V’s – $106 milion in sales in Fiscal Year 2016 from 16 units

Through these restaurants, Darden Restaurants had sales of $6.93 billion in FY2016, up by 4.4% from FY2015.

Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc

Sector: Restaurant

Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc is a private chain of restaurants headquartered in Orlando since 2007. Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc was originally founded in 1971 and was headquartered in London. It initiated rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia collections into its decor a few years into its operation and had some unique collections covering the walls of various Hard Rock Cafe Restaurants around the world. In 2007, Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc was bought by Seminole Tribe of Florida for $965 million, at which point it shifted its headquarters from London to Orlando. Currently, Hard Rock Cafe holds has more than 200 locations (cafes, hotels and casinos) in 68 countries and employs around 39,000 people. In addition to Orlando and the U.S as a whole, there are also Hard Rock Cafe’s in the U.K, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, and India.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc (NYSE:HGV)

Sector: Timeshare

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc (NYSE:HGV), the next one on our list of companies with headquarters in Orlando is a public timeshare company based in Orlando. What is a timeshare? Hilton Grand Vacations Inc (NYSE:HGV) owns and operates various vacation club ownership resorts around the country, with members having exclusive use of the vacation club ownership resorts for a limited time-period, which is called a timeshare. As of 2016, the company owns 46 resorts and a total of around 7,500 units. Hilton Grand Vacation club also has more than 250,000 members.

In addition to having its headquarters in Orlando, Hilton Grand Vacations Club also has a lot of resorts in the metropolitan area in Florida. Hilton Grand Vacations Club also has regional offices in cities like Marco and Sanibel Island, in addition to marketing offices in California, Hawaii, Las Vegas, New York, Park City, Myrtle Beach, Guam, Scotland, South Korea, and Tokyo.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC)

Sector: Timeshare

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) is the second timeshare company with its headquarters in Orlando. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) was founded in 1984 in South Carolina and runs more than 60 resorts, having current membership of more than 400,000. The presence of multiple vacations clubs and timeshare companies in Orlando is no doubt due to the fact that Orlando has been well established as a tourist destination since the 1980’s, thanks to Walt Disney World.

Marriott Vacation Worldwide Corp’s brands include Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriot, and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. In addition to having its headquarters there, Marriott Vacations Worlwide Corp has around 70 hotels and resorts in Orlando.

Planet Hollywood International, Inc.

Sector: Restaurant

Planet Hollywood International, Inc. is the second private theme-restaurant chain on this list of companies with headquarters in Orlando which is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Like Hard Rock Cafe, the chain features memorabilia and merchandise, which in this case is related to the movie industry. Planet Hollywood International, Inc.  was inaugurated in 1991 and was backed by famous Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Planet Hollywood has restaurants in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Apart from its Orlando headquarters, Planet Hollywood also has a restaurant with Disney Springs merchandise store in the city, as well as a separate merchandise store, Disney’s Hollywood Studio.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH)

Sector: Restaurant

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) is another restaurant that makes the list of 11 companies with headquarters in Orlando. Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) is one of the biggest fine dining restaurant chains in America. The restaurant chain managed by Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) is Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, which has locations in many parts of the world and in many major cities in America. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse was founded in 1965 after the company acquired Chris Steakhouse. Current there are more than 150 Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses owned by Ruth’s Hospitality Group, with more than 20 international franchisee-owned restaurants in Mexico, Asia, the Middle East, and Canada.

In Orlando, there are a couple of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses located in the central area of the city, and the restaurant’s headquarters are located in the Winter Park area of Orlando. For 2016, the company posted income of $30.5 million, up by 2% from 2015.

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS)

Sector: Theme Park and Entertainment

Here is another company in the entertainment industry which is headquartered in Orlando. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS) is a public company which operates many theme parks, water parks and zoological theme parks in multiple locations in America. In Orlando, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS) has SeaWorld Park, Discovery Cove and Aquatica Orlando as its key entertainment assets. The company’s theme park and water park brands include:

• SeaWorld Park (Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego)
• Busch Gardens (Tampa, Williamsburg)
• Sesame Place (Longhorne)
• Discover Cove (Orlando)
• Acquatica (Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego)
• Adventure Island (Tampa)
• Water Country USA (Williamsburg)

SeaWorld Entertainment also has future plans to open a SeaWorld Park in Dubai, which is expected to begin operations in 2022, and will be the company’s first location outside of the U.S. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS) provides employment to more than 30,000 people in Orlando and across the U.S.

T.G. Lee Dairy

Sector: Dairy Products

T.G. Lee Dairy, the next one on our list of companies with headquarters in Orlando is one of the oldest private companies headquartered in Orlando. T.G. Lee Dairy was established way back in 1925 by Thomas Gilbert Lee, with the main intent of delivering quality dairy products to the people of Orlando. For more than 90 years the company has delivered on its promise by providing the freshest and highest quality dairy products to people in Florida. T.G. Lee Dairy is also a regional brand of public company Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF).

T.G. Lee started his company with a single cow and 20 acres of land and it was the first company to build a high-tech milking parlor in Orlando in 1934. In addition to milk, the company offers juices, culture products, cream, butter, and ice cream. Today there are four T.G Lee Factories in the state of Florida, which continue the company’s tradition of providing high quality milk products to the people of Florida.

Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP)

Sector: Kitchen and Beauty Products

We are continuing our list of companies with headquarters in Orlando with Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP) that is one of the leading companies when it comes to the multinational direct sales of kitchen storage sets and beauty products, thanks to its mind-boggling sales network, which includes more than 2.9 million people around the world. Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP) was originally founded as The Tupperware Company by Earl Tupper in 1946. Later, Tupper sold it to Rexall, and the company shifted its headquarters to Orlando in 1958. Currently, the multinational direct sales giant sells products in more than 100 countries.

Westgate Resorts

Westgate Resorts is the third timeshare resort chain headquartered in Orlando on this list. The private company was founded in 1982 in Orlando, and later expanded to other places in Florida, including Miami and Daytona Beach. Following this, it spread to many other states and currently operates 28 resorts in America, with around 13,500 villas. Eight of these resorts are located in Orlando. Westgate Resorts provides employment to more than 10,000 people in America.

What do you think of our list of the 11 Companies with Headquarters in Orlando? Share your thoughts on the list and the companies on it in the comments below.

Disclosure: None