JPMorgan Bets Big on London With Giant New Canary Wharf HQ

Reuters, the Guardian, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Business Wire contributed to this report.

JPMorgan Chase is doubling down on London, unveiling plans for a massive new tower in Canary Wharf that could become one of the biggest office buildings in Europe.

The Wall Street giant says the project will create a “world-class workplace” for up to 12,000 employees and pump about £9.9 billion ($13 billion) into the UK economy over six years, including construction and knock-on local spending.

The new UK headquarters will sit on the Riverside South site on the western edge of Canary Wharf, right on the River Thames. JPMorgan bought the land back in 2008, parked the idea after the financial crisis, and instead moved into Lehman Brothers’ old tower at 25 Bank Street. Now the bank has outgrown that building and is finally dusting off its original plan.

Key details:

• Size: About 3 million square feet of space – larger than any existing office building in London and bigger even than JPMorgan’s brand-new Park Avenue HQ in New York.
• Design: By Foster + Partners, the same high-profile architecture firm behind the New York HQ.
• Timeline: Expected to take around six years to build, once all approvals are in place.
• Jobs: Around 7,800 roles supported across construction and related industries during the build.

When it’s finished, the tower will serve as JPMorgan’s main base in the UK and its most significant hub in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

For Canary Wharf, which has spent the post-pandemic years battling vacancies and doubts about the future of office work, this is a huge statement of confidence.

Canary Wharf Group CEO Shobi Khan called it a “defining moment” for the district, saying 2025 is already shaping up to be its best leasing year in more than a decade. Much of the recent construction in the area has been residential; a headline-grabbing office project from one of the world’s biggest banks is exactly the kind of boost landlords have been waiting for.

It’s also a political win. The announcement landed the day after UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a budget that raised taxes in many areas but didn’t hike the levy on bank profits. Reeves quickly hailed the tower as a “multi-billion pound vote of confidence in the UK economy.”

JPMorgan insists the project is a long-term strategic move, not a quick response to one budget speech, but CEO Jamie Dimon was clear that government policy mattered:

“The UK government’s priority of economic growth has been a critical factor in helping us make this decision,” he said.
“This building will represent our lasting commitment to the city, the UK, our clients and our people.”

Dimon is one of Wall Street’s strongest advocates for office life, famously blasting work-from-home Fridays and pushing most staff to return to the office five days a week. Unsurprisingly, the new tower is designed to make that commute more appealing.

Plans include:

• Large collaboration spaces and state-of-the-art trading floors;
• Terraces and rooftop areas;
• Wellness spaces, nursing rooms and other support facilities;
• On-site restaurants and cafés;
• Plenty of bike parking;
• New public parkland and an upgraded dock area around the building.

The project is being co-developed with Canary Wharf Group, and JPMorgan is being advised by former CWG boss Sir George Iacobescu, a key player in building Canary Wharf into a global financial hub.

The move comes at a time when some banks have shifted staff to EU cities after Brexit and office developers have been cautious about starting major new projects. But between this tower and a separate £350 million upgrade to its Bournemouth campus, JPMorgan is sending a clear signal that it still sees the UK – and London in particular – as central to its global operations.

The bank already employs about 23,000 people in the UK, including 13,000 in London. Once the new Riverside tower is finished, JPMorgan plans to base staff primarily there and at its existing site on 60 Victoria Embankment, and will “consider its options” for its current Canary Wharf HQ at 25 Bank Street.

As Co-CEO for EMEA Conor Hillery put it:

“There should be no doubt about the enduring appeal of London as a world-class financial centre, and this investment would prove it.”

If everything goes ahead as planned, the skyline over Canary Wharf – and the city’s standing as a global finance capital – is about to get a very visible new vote of confidence.