Construction has now started on the new headquarters of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
FCA is relocating from its current offices at Canary Wharf to The International Quarter - the £2.3 billion development in Stratford, which, at a total of 4 million square feet, is set to become the capital’s fourth business district.
Lendlease and LCR, the joint venture partners delivering The International Quarter, held a ground-breaking ceremony for the FCA’s new 425,000-square-foot headquarters, which sits at the gateway to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, on 15th September 2015.
The building has been designed by world-class architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, with the interior design being undertaken by Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will, a practice renowned for their design expertise in delivering excellent workplaces.
Like all the buildings at The International Quarter, the FCA headquarters has been designed with staff health and well-being at its core. Features including open atria, extensive natural daylight, internal connecting staircases and a large roof terrace, will allow employees to be more flexible and healthy in the way they choose to work. This new generation of agile offices will be home to 3,500 FCA staff from mid-2018.
An estimated 1,200 construction jobs will be created on site at The International Quarter by spring 2016 and Lendlease has recently partnered with Newham Council, Newham Workplace and Building Crafts College to deliver a ten-week training programme to upskill unemployed Newham residents in construction – ensuring as many roles are awarded to local people as possible.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by John Griffith-Jones (Chairman, FCA), David Joy (Chief Executive, LCR), Neale Coleman (Chair, London Legacy Development Corporation), Sir Robin Wales (Mayor of Newham), and Ian Crockford, (Project Director, The International Quarter, Lendlease)
John Griffith-Jones, FCA Chairman said;
“I’m delighted that construction has started on a new building that will provide a compelling mix of excellent facilities, value for money, sustainability and the right infrastructure to meet our future needs.”
Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said:
“I am pleased to welcome the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to their new home in Stratford. The arrival of a key player in the financial sector is exciting news for the borough.
“Newham has so much to offer businesses looking to establish a base with some of the best transport links in London, unrivalled digital infrastructure and a young, dynamic workforce. Our excellent employment service Workplace will work closely with the FCA to ensure local residents are able to make the most of the job opportunities created. The FCA is one of a growing number of businesses choosing to make Newham their base. We look forward to working together to make the potential they have seen in the borough a reality.”
Ian Crockford, Project Director, The International Quarter at Lendlease, said:
“This is another key step in our goal to create the most agile, healthy and efficient business community in the capital. Thousands of the FCA’s staff will soon benefit from an office space which will deliver the most advanced thinking in workplace design and set new standards for health and well-being”.
David Joy, Chief Executive at LCR, said:
“Today demonstrates that we are making real progress on The International Quarter, one of the largest and most significant mixed-use developments in the UK. Construction is now in full swing on new headquarters - of world-class design - for two major commercial tenants and the remaining office space is continuing to fill up fast. The construction alone will provide 1,200 new jobs and over time, The International Quarter will create more than 25,000 jobs, becoming a major new employment hub in East London. We look forward to continuing to work with Lendlease to make this happen.”
Neale Coleman, Chair / David Goldstone, Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation said,
“What better way to measure the success of the London 2012 Games than to see even more land being used to create jobs and boost the economy of east London. Few of us dared dream that we would have progressed so far and so quickly with the legacy promises we made. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is thriving and the thousands of jobs coming to The International Quarter show just how much confidence developers have in one of the prime commercial and residential development areas in London. We look forward to welcoming the Financial Conduct Authority to Stratford.”
Ivan Harbour, Senior Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, said:
“The International Quarter is pioneering the next evolution of the workplace, supporting a dynamic, creative approach to working life that will allow organisations to meet the high expectations of their employees. Fresh air, natural daylight, connectivity and a vibrant masterplan were all key considerations in the master-plan and design of the FCA’s new headquarters.
The joint venture partners behind the project, Lendlease and LCR, obtained detailed planning permission for the new building in March 2015, which is located on Plot S5 at The International Quarter next to Building S6. Also under construction, this will be a major base for Transport for London; 3000 staff will be working here from Autumn 2017. Lendlease and LCR are in discussions with a number of major corporate tenants about moving to The International Quarter.