Google Buys $1 Billion of Land in London, UK
New digs for Google.
With over 50,000 employees scattered around the globe and a varied product portfolio that includes everything from browsers to driverless cars, a company like Google needs a lot of space. This week, it emerged that the company has purchased a sizable chunk of land in London, England. According to Reuters, Google, which already has a London office, just recently snapped up a 2.4 acre plot at the Kings Cross Central development.
Billed as one of London's biggest regeneration schemes, Kings Cross Central will soon (okay, not that soon) be home to a 1-million-square-foot Google HQ. Reuters cites a source that says Google is investing a £650 million pounds to buy and develop the site, which will be worth £1 billion when it is finished.
The new headquarters is expected to finished in three years time. At that point, Google will move from its current London office to the new building. Reuters says work on the new building will start later this year and the structure will be between seven and 11 storeys tall.
Google Europe VP Matt Brittin described the investment as a big one for Google. Brittin said Google is committing further to the UK and that the move was good news for Google.
Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
-
jerm1027 fleeb1B is the cost of the whole project and not just the plot of land.Don't you just hate it when article headlines mislead you like that?Reply -
devBunny $1 billion sounded like a lot until I got to the bit about 2.4 acres. Then it sounded like an awful lot for not a lot. 2.4 acres is less than 1½ football pitches. Just imagine walking down the pitch shouting "$3 million", "$6 million", "$9 million" ... with each successive footfall. ;-)Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre#Equivalence_to_other_units_of_area
(Being British, "football" naturally refers to soccer ;-) -
myromance123 1 Billion US Dollars or 1 billion pounds sterling?Reply
I'm pretty sure it makes a huge difference. -
devBunny jerm1027Don't you just hate it when article headlines mislead you like that?Reply
Sadly I think we're getting to expect it from Tom's. www.bbc.co.uk/news is also riddled with click-seeking headline spin. :-/ -
abbadon_34 Seems like they could have got a more for their money in a suburb, where are the liberals complaining they are simply convertering housing into corporateReply -
Prescott_666 myromance1231 Billion US Dollars or 1 billion pounds sterling?I'm pretty sure it makes a huge difference.Reply
From the article:
Google is investing a £650 million pounds to buy and develop the site, which will be worth £1 billion when it is finished.
So Pounds. -
Jane, you normally have such good headlines and articles, probably the best on Toms, but this one is definitely not your best.Reply
The headline is simply incorrect! Go read BBC News, then come back and fix!