Search engine giant Google has confirmed that it will invest £1bn to build a new headquarters in London.
The headquarters will be located next to Google’s existing base in King’s Cross, central London.
The project is expected to create 3,000 new jobs by 2020, the BBC reported.
Currently, Google employs nearly 4,000 people in the UK.
Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai told the publication that UK was still an attractive country to do business.
Pichai said: “The UK has been a tremendous market for us.
“We see big opportunities here. This is a big commitment from us – we have some of the best talent in the world in the UK and to be able to build great products from here sets us up well for the long term.”
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The new 650,000 square foot headquarters will double the office space owned by Google in King’s Cross.
A plan to build the new headquarters was originally proposed three years ago.
However, the EU referendum and disagreement over the design of the building raised doubts about the execution of the plan.
Google’s current office in London.
Pichai said: “The innovation we see here, the talent we have available here and how on the cutting edge of technology we are able to be here makes it an incredible place for us to invest.
“We do value how open and connected it is and we can bring in talent from anywhere in the world and we value those attributes and we are optimistic that those will stay true over time.
“So we did [make the investment decision] taking into consideration [the referendum], but we are very optimistic.”
In September 2013, Google won final approval for its £650m new headquarters, featuring a rooftop swimming pool and running track, in London.
The California-based company was expected to begin construction of the building at the end of that year, with a completion date in late 2016.
The company acquired the site from King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) to build the new headquarters.
But the project was thrown into doubt after Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, discarded initial designs for a new headquarters as “too boring.”
