Under-fire watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority is to move to a new £2bn business district next to the Olympic Park.
The FCA will be the first tenant of the International Quarter, moving its 3,000 staff from its current headquarters in Canary Wharf.
Jointer developers London and Continental Railways and Australian giant Lend Lease hope to build the 22-acre site into a business area to rival Canary Wharf. The district will feature four million square feet of office space.
The FCA was enticed to the district by lower rents of between £30 and £35 per sq ft compared with £45 per sq ft in Canary Wharf. It also considered taking an office in Brookfield’s Principal Place in the Square Mile where rents are understood to be around £55 per sq ft.
The watchdog is due to move to Stratford in 2018. The FCA and chief executive Martin Wheatley are currently under pressure over a leak last week which wiped millions off the value of UK insurers.
