Plans have been announced for a new “landmark tower” in London with double the floor space of Britain’s tallest building, The Shard.

JPMorgan Chase unveiled details of the proposed office block after banks escaped having their taxes raised in the budget earlier this week.

The US multinational bank said the new building in Canary Wharf, in the east of the capital, would have a floor space of three million square feet. The Shard, in London Bridge, covers 1.3 million square feet.

However, the final design of the tower, including its height, is still being finalised.

A spokesperson for the firm told Sky News that they hoped to have clarity “soon” on how tall the building would be and the number of storeys. But it is expected to be one of the biggest office blocks in Europe.

Money latest: Not paying your student loan back yet? That could change sooner than you think

JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon reportedly signed off on the plans late last week.

It came after Sir Keir Starmer’s business envoy Varun Chandra flew out to New York to personally “offer assurances about the government’s business-friendly policies,” the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The company also warned in a press release that its plans were “subject to a continuing positive business environment in the UK”, as well as planning permission from local authorities.

JPMorgan Chase said the project could contribute up to £9.9bn to the UK economy over six years, including by generating 7,800 jobs, many of them in the construction industry.

Read more from Sky News:
TGI Fridays’ UK chain up for sale
‘Sticking to Labour manifesto pledge costs workers’
HSBC chair candidates to pitch to board next week

The tower would house up to 12,000 people and serve as JPMorgan Chase’s main UK headquarters and its most significant presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The firm, which employs 23,000 people in the UK, said the tower would be “one of the largest and most sophisticated in Europe”.

The building is being designed by British architects Foster and Partners, known for landmarks projects including the new Wembley Stadium and London’s Millennium Bridge.

Mr Dimon said: “London has been a trading and financial hub for more than a thousand years, and maintaining it as a vibrant place for finance and business is critical to the health of the UK economy.

“This building will represent our lasting commitment to the city, the UK, our clients and our people.”

Mr Dimon added: “The UK government’s priority of economic growth has been a critical factor in helping us make this decision.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “thrilled” about the announcement, while Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said it represented a “huge vote of confidence in the capital’s future”.

An influential City group is urging investors to oppose plans that would guarantee a multimillion pound share bonanza to executives at Anglo American as it finalises a $33bn merger with Canada’s Teck Resources.

Sky News understands that the Investment Association’s IVIS voting advisory service has issued next month’s vote on amendments to Anglo’s long-term incentive awards with a ‘red-top’ alert – its strongest possible warning against the resolution.

The development comes days after rival miner BHP approached Anglo for a second time about a potential takeover, before abruptly withdrawing.

Anglo, the mining group which owns De Beers, wants to amend its share awards to guarantee that they would pay out at least 62.5% of their value if the merger completes.

Institutional Shareholder Services, which has recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the merger itself, has also recommended opposition to the bonus scheme amendments.

“The amending of awards to reflect M&A factors not envisioned when the awards were first granted is not considered inappropriate in the UK market per se,” ISS said in a report to clients.

“However, in this case, the amending of in-flight LTIP awards in order to ensure a minimum payout linked to the completion of the merger transaction is.

“Indeed, the linking of variable incentives to the completion of transactions is not considered good practice, which is itself recognised by the company.”

Read more from Sky News:
TGI Fridays’ UK chain up for sale
‘Sticking to Labour manifesto pledge costs workers’
HSBC chair candidates to pitch to board next week

The IA declined to comment further on the red-top alert.

A spokesman for Anglo American said the proposed changes would drive “even greater alignment with shareholders’ interests”.

Sticking to Labour’s manifesto pledge and freezing income tax thresholds rather than raising income tax has hurt low- and middle-income earners, an influential thinktank has said.

Millions of these workers “would have been better off with their tax rates rising than their thresholds being frozen”, according to the Resolution Foundation’s chief executive, Ruth Curtice.

“Ironically, sticking to her manifesto tax pledge has cost millions of low-to-middle earners”, she said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her budget speech that the point at which people start paying higher rates of tax has been held. It means earners are set to be dragged into higher tax bands as they get pay rises.

The chancellor felt unable to raise income tax as the Labour Party pledged not to raise taxes on working people in its election manifesto.

But many are saying that pledge was broken regardless, as the tax burden has increased by £26bn in this budget.

When asked by Sky News whether Ms Reeves would accept she broke the manifesto pledge, she said:

“I do recognise that yesterday I have asked working people to contribute a bit more by freezing those thresholds for a further three years from 2028.”

“I do recognise that that will mean that working people pay a bit more, but I’ve kept that contribution to an absolute minimum”.

Welcome news

The Resolution Foundation thinktank, which aims to raise living standards, welcomed measures designed to support people with the cost of living, such as the removal of the two-child benefit cap, which limited the number of children families could claim benefits for.

Read more:
Budget 2025: The key points at a glance
Budget calculator: See how your finances have changed

The announced reduction in energy bills through the removal of as yet unspecified levies was similarly welcomed.

The chancellor said bills would become £150 cheaper a year, but the foundation said typical energy bills will fall by around £130 annually for the next three years, “though support then fades away”.

More to come

This budget won’t be the last of it, Ms Curtice said, as economic growth forecasts have been downgraded by independent forecasters the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and growth is a “hurdle that remains to be cleared”.

“Until that challenge is taken on, we can expect plenty more bracing budgets,” she added.

It comes despite Ms Reeves saying as far back as last year, there would be no more tax increases.

Ultimately, though, the foundation said, “The great drumbeat of doom that preceded the chancellor’s big day turned out to be over the top: the forecasts came in better than many had feared.”