Google to invest $1B in new U.K. headquarters -- Reuters
The facility could be worth nearly twice that much by the time it's finished in 2016, the wire service reports.
Google is ready to drop a significant sum of cash into a London plot of land that will one day be home to its U.K. headquarters, according to a Reuters report.
Google is investing 650 million pounds (about $1 billion) in a 2.4-acre plot at the Kings Cross Central development in London, Reuters reported yesterday, citing developers involved in the purchase. The company plans to build a one-million-square-foot building on the plot that will become its U.K. headquarters when it's finished in 2016.
Google currently operates U.K. offices in the Victoria and Holborn districts. Those offices will be moved to the new facility in 2016, according to Reuters' sources. The company plans to start construction on the site in late 2013.
Once the new building is finished, Google's headquarters could be worth up to $1.6 billion, according to Reuters' sources.
Google has not confirmed that it has actually acquired the property, but CNET has contacted the company for comment and will update this story when we have more information.
Like Google, Apple is also in the process of kicking off a major construction effort. For years, the iPhone maker has been planning a new "spaceship" headquarters in Cupertino made of curved glass. Apple's new headquarters is expected to cost the company several hundred million dollars.
(Via The Verge)