Birmingham is one of the most rapidly improving places to work in the UK, and BT’s expansion in the area will bring a further boost to the city.
The new office at Three Snowhill will be home to 4,000 BT employees, occupying the majority of the new 17-storey building. This marks a major increase in the number of BT staff working in the city, and it will serve as an important “strategic hub location” for the company.
The telecommunications firm is embarking on a five-year “Better Workplace Programme”, which will see vast improvements and consolidation of its workplaces across the country.
Major business location
According to Graeme Paton, BT’s managing director of Property and Facilities Services, Birmingham and the wider Midlands will benefit from the company’s move, as the region sees growing numbers of major businesses relocating there, increasing the area’s potential.
He commented: “Unveiling our new site at Three Snowhill follows our announcement last year, when Birmingham was revealed as one of the first locations that will house our workplaces of the future.
“The city was recently ranked one of the most rapidly improving places to work in Britain and, thanks to securing this office space, we will become one of the largest employers in Birmingham with a visible presence in a strategic and important location.”
“Our new building in Birmingham will bring our people together in an impressive and modern environment, transforming the way we work. Excitingly, it will become a strategic hub location for BT in the UK with a considerable increase in the number of colleagues we employ based in the city.”
Growing talent pool in Birmingham
Birmingham also became the base for 2,000 HSBC members of staff last year, while the particular area where BT’s new office is based is already home to HS2 Ltd, KPMG and Barclays.
Adding to the expanding talent pool in the city, PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the “big four” accounting firms in the UK, has just moved 2,000 members of staff into new offices at One Chamberlain Square. The firm plans to expand its employee count in the area to 2,300 by the end of this year, adding to the 10,000 staff who already work outside London.
Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner at PwC UK, says the firm plans to add a further 1,000 roles in Birmingham by 2021, and the Birmingham office move marks the largest property investment for the firm outside the UK to date.
“This new office complements our other investments across the UK, including Bristol, Reading, Leeds, Bradford Manchester, Edinburgh, and we’ll be opening a new Belfast office in late 2020 in response to our growth in Northern Ireland.”
As more major businesses choose Birmingham as a key office location, the talent pool and investment potential of the city continues to grow.
According to Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, the latest announcement from BT shows the level of confidence that companies have in the “vibrant regional economy”.
“With a rapidly expanding digital infrastructure, large talent pool, and a transport network that connects us to all parts of the UK, the West Midlands remains a highly attractive destination for companies like BT.”
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