The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, today championed continued investment in the City of London as he marked the start of construction of a new building for Swiss bank UBS at 5 Broadgate. Part of the Broadgate estate, 5 Broadgate is being developed by joint venture partners British Land and Blackstone, creating over 5,000 construction jobs over the next three years.
The Chancellor joined British Land Chief Executive Chris Grigg, Blackstone Senior Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Europe Chad Pike, and senior representatives of UBS at a groundbreaking event to celebrate the start of construction.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon George Osborne MP said: “There have been those who tried to block the redevelopment of the Broadgate site, but this Government has helped see the project through, so we can send an important message to the world – that Britain is open for business and is unashamedly pro enterprise.
“This new site, in the heart of the City, signals the confidence placed in London as the world’s leading financial centre. The scheme will benefit not only from the Government’s Crossrail investment at Liverpool Street station, but will also protect up to 7,000 jobs in the City, and create over 5,000 new construction jobs.
Chris Grigg, Chief Executive of British Land added: “UBS’s commitment to the City of London and Broadgate demonstrates London’s global appeal as a major financial centre. The 5 Broadgate development will not only help to retain jobs in the City but will also create thousands more during its construction. British Land is also on site at five other office developments as part of our £1.1 billion investment in Central London which is creating a total of over 15,000 construction jobs.”
Ulrich Koerner, CEO UBS Group Europe Middle East and Africa said:” UBS’s roots in the UK date back to 1898 when the Swiss Bankverein (which later became Swiss Bank Corporation and then UBS), became the first Swiss bank to establish a presence in London. The development of such an impressive new office signals the continuation of UBS’s long and successful relationship with the UK, the City of London and Broadgate. We hope its powerful design will reflect UBS’s own strength and solidity, as one of the best capitalized banks in the world.”
Chad Pike of Blackstone added: "UBS's decision to consolidate its London headquarters in 5 Broadgate is an important decision that sends a message of belief in London as a world class financial centre. We are proud to be here to mark this occasion."
On completion in 2014, the occupied 12 storey building, designed by leading architectural practice
Make, will provide 700,000 square feet of Grade ‘A' office space. It will also meet the highest standards of sustainability in terms of energy performance, responsible specification and procurement of materials, and the provision of facilities to support sustainable employee behaviour. The new building will include up to four trading floors, each able to accommodate approximately 750 traders, allowing UBS to consolidate its London trading operations into one building.
As part of the construction process a bespoke employment hub has been established to maximise training, skills and employment opportunities, available to local residents, which aims to support 180 individuals including 18 construction apprenticeships.
5 Broadgate sits at the heart of the Broadgate estate, a dynamic, thriving business community where over 30,000 people work each day. Developed in phases over the last 25 years, the 32-acre estate is held in a joint venture between British Land and Blackstone, and comprises 16 buildings incorporating over 4.4 million sq ft of Grade A office, retail and leisure accommodation. The estate is located at the Liverpool Street transport interchange, and is visited by around 150,000 people every weekday.
Crossrail, which is due to open in 2018, will provide new, high-frequency rail links, making travel to Broadgate even easier and quicker.
British Land’s London office portfolio currently comprises more than 7 million sq ft of prime office space located in the City and West End. The company is also investing £1.1 billion to create Central London's largest committed office development programme, which is set to deliver 2.2 million sq ft of high quality space by 2014 and create over 15,000 construction jobs (1). In addition to 5 Broadgate, the programme incorporates a further five mixed use and office developments in London, including the 610,000 sq ft Leadenhall Building in London’s insurance district, recently chosen by Aon for its global headquarters, and a 500,000 sq ft office and residential scheme at NEQ, Regent’s Place in the West End.