Amazon is set to open a new office in central London as part of its efforts to expand its UK business in the fields of book publishing and television production.
The new office will be 12 floors high and span an area of 210,000ft2, and will accomodate 1,600 staff to be transferred from Amazon’s base in Slough by the end of 2013.
Amazon UK managing director, Christopher North, said that the new office location will provide the space required for hundreds of existing employees as well as many more to be hired in the future.
"Amazon has more than 6,000 permanent employees in the UK and we will continue to create thousands of jobs in the coming years across the UK," North said.
The current spending marks Amazon’s second major property investment in London within a year, and comes amid the company facing criticism over its tax avoidance in the UK.
In July 2012, Amazon commissioned a 47,000ft2 centre for developing its on-demand video service, LoveFilm, near the Barbican to exploit the pool of web development talent in Shoreditch.
London Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed Amazon’s property deal.
"This is excellent news for London’s continued growth as a leading global hub for tech talent," Johnson said.
