UK - Gateway to London
In October 2007 London was once again voted the number one city in Europe for business by an influential annual survey. We take a closer look
2008-10-12
The Cushman Wakefield European Cities Monitor reported that the UK capital had retained its position, and increased its lead over Paris, as the best city in Europe to locate a business. London is also on top globally, and is widely seen as having overtaken New York as the finance capital of the world with more companies now registering on the London Stock Exchange than on its American counterpart and the capital’s financial workforce growing by 13,000 between 2002 and 2005. This has expanded London’s total financial labour market by 4.3 per cent to 318,000, while New York’s has slipped back 0.7 per cent to 328,000.
Financial commentators predict that London’s economy will continue to grow at a faster rate than New York, Paris or any other established global city. It is easy to see why; the capital has a highly skilled workforce, and an economy of just over £165 billion, equivalent to that of many developed countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. It is home to 486 overseas banks, many international institutions and is also the media capital of Europe and the UK's centre of political power and influence. London also offers unrestricted access to 459,500,000 consumers in the European Union, making it one of the world's largest trading hubs and is the number one destination for foreign direct investment (Ernst & Young 2006 European Investment Monitor).
Within the UK capital the focus for economic and business growth has shifted to the east and the London Thames Gateway. The region is Europe's fastest growing business district and is identified by government as a primary location for growth in jobs and housing. Moreover, it will be the base for the 2012 Olympics with the main stadium, village and several other key venues located on the rapidly developing Olympic site in Stratford.
London Thames Gateway is however arguably most famous for being home to a number of prestigious commercial hubs in London Docklands. The best known of these is Canary Wharf, a location that provides world class business accommodation, flagship sites and a major financial and headquarters centre. Built on the site of London’s West India Docks, Canary Wharf was one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken, involving some of the world’s leading architects and designers. Extending over 86 acres, the estate comprises 14 million sq ft of first class office space, with a further 6 million sq ft proposed or under construction, set in a landscaped waterside environment. There are over 17 acres of open space, accommodating 500 mature trees. One Canada Square, the tallest building in the UK at 800 ft, is visible 20 miles away.
Since the first tenants took occupation in 1991, Canary Wharf has attracted the UK and European headquarters of many of the world’s major corporations, especially in the financial, media and energy sectors, seeking prestigious premises in a globally renowned landmark location. Leading international companies such as Citigroup, Barclays, Clifford Chance, Reuters, Lehman Brothers and HSBC now have their headquarters and major offices in Canary Wharf which has seen the area transform into a truly world class business community.
Canary Wharf is also an important centre for UK and European regulatory and representative organisations, such as the Financial Services Authority, the International Sugar Organisation, the International Grains Council, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations and the European Medicines Agency,
Today Canary Wharf is undeniably impressive, offering outstanding skylines, amenities and properties which surpass those of many other locations. Current office take-up in Docklands shows the extent of its ongoing popularity; figures revealed in a report earlier this year from Songbird, the Aim-listed company that owns 60.8 per cent of the Canary Wharf Group, showed that occupancy on the estate has risen from 89.6 per cent to 95.6 per cent since the end of 2005, reflecting the number of major property deals that are being completed.
Recent examples include French financial services firm Fimalac who will move their Fitch Group subsidiary into a new £290 million UK headquarters at 30 North Colonnade. The new building will be constructed by the Canary Wharf Group and comprise around 320,000 sq ft of office space over 15 storeys located between the European headquarters of HSBC and Barclays Bank and adjacent to the new KPMG headquarters, currently under construction. The building and interior fittings are scheduled for completion during the last quarter of 2010, allowing Fitch start the move into their new premises at the end of the year along with other tenants. Canary Wharf Group is also planning to submit an application for a significant redevelopment at Wood Wharf, a neighbouring plot owned by a consortium of Canary Wharf, Ballymore and British Waterways. Wood Wharf will have 6.5m sq ft of space and could include several towers as tall or taller than the existing buildings in Docklands.
The booming property market is however not the only reason for Canary Wharf’s growing popularity as a business destination. The Docklands site has also benefited hugely from London Thames Gateway’s exceptional national and international transport connections as well as the region having the fastest growing infrastructure in the UK. Ideally located at the heart of Europe, executives based here can leave their offices and be in the business districts of most major European cities within two hours either by rapidly checking in to the uncongested London City Airport which now serves 31 European destinations and was named best UK Airport this year by Wanderlust magazine, or on one of Eurostar’s 14 trains to Paris and 10 to Brussels each day. In November 2007, ‘High Speed 1’, the new channel tunnel rail link opens with high speed trains connecting European cities to St Pancras and the new international station at Stratford in London Thames Gateway, expected to open in 2009.
With Canary Wharf at its heart, London Thames Gateway has become the focal point for the UK capital’s growth and is a key reason for London’s new position as the world’s most popular city for business. Canary Wharf’s growing reputation as the world’s premier banking and financial services centre looks set to continue and, we at Gateway to London, look forward to ensuring that more national and international firms across a host of sectors make London Thames Gateway their home and become part of this thriving business environment.
