London Thames Gateway's Booming Businesses

Gateway to London was pleased to learn that in October 2007, London was once again voted the number one city in Europe for business by an influential annual survey. The Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor 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. More companies are now registering on the London Stock Exchange than on its American counterpart, and the capital's financial workforce grew 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.

Gateway to London has built on the capital's success by providing a network of contacts for businesses looking to set up, relocate and grow. It is easy to see why so many firms thrive in London Thames Gateway: our transport infrastructure is growing at a rate of knots, there is a London workforce of 3.6 million, a wider labour pool of 4 million, and 390,000 students in London universities and higher education colleges. We can also boast the latest telecommunications infrastructure and business support services. Whilst the economy has been strong over the past few years, property prices in London Thames Gateway have importantly stayed low.

Part of Gateway to London's role is to signpost the wide range of affordable business locations London Thames Gateway has to offer; from town centres to purpose built office and warehouse parks, the region has new or future sites to suit all tastes and requirements.

The most well known of these, and one of the key catalysts for the region's growing businesses, 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 97 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 20 acres of landscaped open space, accommodating 500 mature trees. One Canada Square, the tallest building in the UK at 800 ft, is visible 20 miles away.

Canary Wharf is undeniably impressive, offering outstanding skylines, amenities and properties which surpass those of many other locations. Market intelligence suggests it has also remained strong in recent months in terms of office take up; recent examples include Moody's Investors Service who are relocating to Canary Wharf taking around 170,000 sq ft at One Canada Square.

Moody's, who employ around 3,000 people worldwide will be relocating from various buildings in the City of London, and consolidating its London staff at the Dockland's estate. Gateway to London has also learned that the Financial Services Authority - also in One Canada Square - has also agreed to take an additional 27,230 sq ft of space in addition to the 350,000 sq ft of office space it occupies at 25 North Colonnade, while the Abbey Business Centre has agreed to take 28,435 sq ft. Abbey has a network of 13 existing serviced office centres in the UK, with three in the City and others at Heathrow, around the M25 and Thames Valley, and in Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The three deals above combined amount to around 225,000 sq ft of office space, and are a good sign for Canary Wharf and London Thames Gateway, particularly given the continuing speculation over a global economic downturn. In early February, British Land revealed a 17 per cent drop in net asset value in its third quarter results and the value of its portfolio had dropped nine per cent to �12.1bn between the end of September and December.

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. Despite global economic concerns, Gateway to London is confident Canary Wharf's growing reputation as the world's premier banking and financial services centre will continue.