London move by B.N.Z.

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 29

London move by B.N.Z.

From

DIANA DEKKER

in London The Bank of New Zealand’s London head office will shift from its Queen Victoria Street building after more than 107 years. The marvellous old building has become too big, and too dirty, for the bank’s needs and it will shift to smaller, modernised premises at the corner of Gresham Street and Basinghall Street. The new B.N.Z. head office is only about 270 m away from the Queen Victoria Street building and 135 m west of the Bank of England. When the B.N.Z. moves out in July the Queen Victoria Street building faces demolition unless a public inquiry to be held during the next few months prevents a developer demolishing it to make way for a new office block and under-

ground shopping area. The B.N.Z. building was built in the 1840 s by the National Safe Deposit and Trustee Company, Ltd, which still does business in the underground part. The part above ground was originally let as offices. The 8.N.Z., which was established in London in 1862, took over some of the above-ground office space in 1876. It gradually grew to take over all of this space — about 20,000 sq ft. By the mid-1960s the B.N.Z. had grown to employ a staff of 200 at the Queen Victoria Street branch but banking business in London was already declining. “There has been a slow decline since the 1950 s in terms of trade,” said Mr Jim Page, the administration manager in London. “Economic conditions are now such that a large part of our retail banking business has gone. Most of the Australasian banks in Lon-

don have gone out of retailing altogether. “It has become very expensive to run retail banking in London for foreign banks. New Zealanders here are much better served by the big London banks,” Mr Page said. Not only the expense, and size, but the grubbiness of the old building has contributed to the coming move. The bank is built of Welsh minera sandstone which has a thin shield outside and is very porous inside. “It has become one of the grimiest and blackest buildings in the city,” Mr Page said.

“It was cleaned 10 years ago with the most modern methods available and came up a dirty brown. It soon discoloured.”

Mr Page, who has worked at the Queen Victoria Street Building for more than 30 years, said he would be a little sad when the move came.

“A lot of old fogies like myself are quite fond of the old building. But it has outlived its purpose and is looking disreputable on the outside,” he said. The new building, now being refurbished for the 110-member staff, is also a historical one. The original site was owned by Sir Thomas Gresham, who bought it in the seventeenth century with the intention of building a university to rival Oxford and Cambridge. His dream never materialised, although the building erected on the site in 1912 was used by the University of London and called Gresham College. The new B.N.Z. London head office will have 14,900 sq ft of office space. Apart from its head office, the B.N.Z. has a small branch run by a staff of 18 to 20 in London behind New Zealand House in the Haymarket.