Yahoo Finance Anglo American and De Beers submit plans for sparkly London headquarters
Mining giant Anglo American has revealed its commitment to London by lodging plans for a major new headquarters in the heart of London’s jewellery district.
The FTSE-100 miner and its De Beers diamonds subsidiary have jointly submitted proposals “to create a fresh modern campus” at 17 Charterhouse Street near Hatton Garden.
The fortress-like property was built in the 1970s and features subterranean vaults that once held about $5 billion (£3.9 billion) of uncut diamonds.
It has been vacant since March, when De Beers staff moved to Anglo’s Carlton House Terrace rented office in Westminster as part of a wider restructuring to cut overheads.
Anglo had originally mooted a sale of the Charterhouse site, but it is now reviewing a sale and leaseback option, where it would commit to a long lease with a new landlord. It will now house 750 employees.
Documents filed this month to Camden council reveal plans to boost the size of the 114,400 square foot site by 43,884 square feet. Space for 168 bikes is included.
“The proposals are designed to enable the UK operations of both companies to be housed under one roof, returning De Beers to their historic home in the heart of London’s jewellery and diamonds district,” the application said.
Anglo impressed investors in July by revealing a surge in first-half profits that helped its debt fall to $6.2 billion, well ahead of its target of $7 billion by the end of this year.
