With Brexit concerns looming large, many companies over the past few months have been adopting a wait-and-see approach before making any new investments in the U.K. Facebook, however, isn’t one of the skeptics. The Menlo Park, California-based social networking giant has announced that it will open a new headquarter in London next year, creating 500 new jobs in the process. The upcoming office building is already under construction in Fitzrovia, and is expected to be fully operational sometime next year. Once up and running, the 500 new employees will bring Facebook’s total workforce in the country to 1,500 staff, according to a statement released by the company’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ms. Nicola Mendelsohn. Her statement further goes on to say that, despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, “the UK remains one of the best places to be a tech company and is an important part of Facebook’s story”.
Facebook’s announcement has, as expected, received a warm response from government officials and elected representatives in the city that’s still trying to make sense of the unexpected result of the June 23 referendum that has hammered the pound and has led to severe uncertainty among large sections of the business community. London’s newly-elected mayor, Mr. Sadiq Khan, welcomed Facebook’s announcement, saying that the social networking giant’s decision to invest in London shows that the city’s “strength as a tech hub keeps on growing”. He also sought to remind potential investors that the city continues to remain one of the most sought-after in Europe for digital startups. According to Mr. Khan, “Facebook’s continuing commitment is another sign that London is open to talent, innovation and entrepreneurship from all four corners of the world”.
Facebook, of course, isn’t the only major corporate entity to have announced fresh investments in the country in spite of Britain’s recent vote to exit from the European Union. The list of companies that have recently confirmed their plans to invest in the country includes one of the best-known tech companies in the world, Google. Earlier this month, the U.S. search giant confirmed reports that it would expand its London operations in a move that some say could bring 3,000 new jobs to the city. The company is expected to add a new building to the upcoming HQ that is already under construction behind London’s King’s Cross train station. According to the search giant, the upcoming complex, which is expected to become operational sometime in 2018, will be its first wholly-owned and designed building outside the US.