London set for financial jobs boom

BANKS and financial services companies in London will add 11,000 employees in the next three years and will require the equivalent of four Shard skyscrapers to accommodate them, BNP Paribas SA’s real estate unit said.

Banks will need 1.6 million square feet, with the City of London district and Mayfair areas most likely to benefit, according to the report. The 1,016-foot (310-metre) Shard will be Britain’s tallest building when completed.

“Financial sector demand will be there; the occupiers will pay the rents,” BNP Paribas said in the report.

“Occupiers will push hard for lease flexibility.”

About 75% of financial companies said business would expand over the next three years and 55% said they would add employees, the study said.

The strongest growth is expected by smaller financial companies, while the biggest banks are expecting to expand more slowly, added the report.