JPMorgan Chase will build a tower in London\u2019s Canary\u00a0Wharf\u00a0financial district, unveiling plans on Thursday to invest billions of pounds on the heels of a budget\u00a0that\u00a0sought to boost Britain\u2019s finances and growth.<\/p>\n
The bank said the project would contribute 9.9 billion British pounds ($13.1 billion) over six years to the local economy \u2014 including the cost of construction \u2014 and create 7,800 jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK government\u2019s priority of economic growth has been a critical factor in helping us make this decision,\u201d JPMorgan\u2019s Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said, after\u00a0praising\u00a0UK finance minister Rachel Reeves\u2019 budget on Wednesday\u00a0that spared banks\u00a0from fresh taxes.<\/p>\n
A rendering of JPMorgan Chase\u2019s planned multibillion dollar tower in London\u2019s Canary Wharf financial district. via REUTERS<\/p>\n
Reeves said the decision was a \u201cmultibillion pound vote of confidence in the UK economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The planned 3 million-square-foot building will be\u00a0more than double\u00a0the floorspace of Britain\u2019s current tallest building, The Shard\u00a0in London, with around 1.3 million square feet.<\/p>\n
It would also cover more space than JPMorgan\u2019s recently-completed 2.5 million-square-foot\u00a0global headquarters\u00a0on New York\u2019s Park Avenue.<\/p>\n
A source familiar with the project said it would cost a few billion pounds to build and designs were still being finalized, including the height.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan\u2019s decision to remain in Canary\u00a0Wharf\u00a0is a big win for the financial district, which struggled to retain tenants after the COVID-19 pandemic. The area is now enjoying a rebound as more firms, including JPMorgan, push staff to\u00a0return to the office. The bank has been among the most forceful, requiring staff to return five days a week.<\/p>\n
Reuters\u00a0reported\u00a0last year the bank was weighing options in London after outgrowing its existing 33-story tower in Canary\u00a0Wharf, including moving to the more central City of London.<\/p>\n
The new tower will house up to 12,000 employees, JPMorgan said.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan said the investment was still subject to the business environment remaining positive in the UK. Britain\u2019s tax-raising\u00a0budget reduced near-term uncertainty for the economy, but has not changed JPMorgan\u2019s expectation that UK government bond yields would rise next year, its head of European rates strategy\u00a0said separately\u00a0on Thursday.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan Chase chief Dimon praised UK finance minister Rachel Reeves\u2019 budget that spared banks\u00a0from fresh taxes. AP<\/p>\n
If the investment goes ahead as planned,\u00a0it would be a significant post-Brexit win for London after some financial firms were forced to move\u00a0thousands of roles\u00a0to the European Union to serve those clients.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan is building the tower on a site known as \u2018Riverside South\u2019 that it bought in 2008 to the west of the Canary\u00a0Wharf\u00a0estate on the banks of the River Thames.<\/p>\n
It had originally planned to build a new UK HQ on the site, but shelved those plans after the global financial crisis in favor of moving into Lehman Brothers\u2019 old office.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan has outgrown that 1.1 million-square-foot tower, partly due to the expansion of the British arm of retail bank Chase, which competes with local lenders like Lloyds and Barclays on current accounts and credit cards.<\/p>\n
The planned tower in London would cover more space than JPMorgan\u2019s recently-completed 2.5 million-square-foot\u00a0global headquarters\u00a0on Park Avenue in New York. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n