News Corp signalled a long term commitment to London and the UK today by signing a 30-year lease for The Place, the 430,000 sq ft  net office building that forms part of London Bridge Quarter – a new mixed development which includes The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building.

The London operations of News Corp’s news and publishing businesses – including News UK, owner of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers; Dow Jones; and HarperCollins – will move to the site in the borough of Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames this summer.  The lease was signed with LBQ Ltd, owners of The Place.

London Bridge Quarter was developed by Sellar Property in association with the State of Qatar and designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano. The Place, a 17-storey building adjacent to London Bridge Station is technologically innovative, in keeping with News Corp’s own transformation in the digital age. Its BREEAM environmental office rating is “excellent” and supplementary power and heat generation will come through combined heat and power plants.

News UK CEO Mike Darcey said: “There can be no clearer signal of our determination to secure a sustainable future for the world-class journalism we produce than the commitment we make today.  This is a commitment by our company to London and the UK for the next three decades.  Our titles will evolve, our relationships with our readers will strengthen and our mission to report, analyse and challenge the world will continue.”

Dow Jones CEO Lex Fenwick said: “This move is particularly significant for Dow Jones as it will bring all our London-based staff together in one space.  The new, open environment provides a solid foundation for our European business as we aggressively develop our digital platforms and radically heighten the customer experience across products.”

HarperCollins UK CEO Charlie Redmayne said:  “We're delighted to be signing the lease today as it brings us one step closer to the move. Everyone at HarperCollins is excited about the fantastic opportunity this will provide for greater collaboration with News Corp colleagues, as well as the chance to design a bespoke space that puts creativity and innovation at the heart of our publishing."

Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property, shareholder and developer of London Bridge Quarter said: “We are delighted to welcome News Corp’s UK operations to The Place. The wide range of global brands including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, Dow Jones and HarperCollins, is helping create a dynamic business hub at London Bridge with a strong media flavour.

“These internationally recognised businesses join other major brands at The Shard including Shangri-La as well as companies from a diverse range of sectors such as Oil & Gas, Media, Law and Asset Management.”

News UK and its three newspapers are currently based in the East London borough of Tower Hamlets. HarperCollins is in the West London Borough of Hammersmith and will make The Place its London headquarters while keeping offices in Scotland and Yorkshire.  Dow Jones will be moving from offices in Holborn and the City.  Altogether, some 3,500 News Corp employees will be moving into the new building, located outside London Bridge station.