British Library gets Japanese backing for £1.1bn expansion

A ‘groundbreaking’ £1.1bn new development on the British Library’s St Pancras site will go ahead after a Japanese real estate company confirmed its commitment to the project.

Work on 100,000 sq ft of new Library spaces for culture, learning, research and business, including expanded galleries and business support facilities, is due to begin next year and be completed by 2032.

Along with the new library spaces, around 600,000 sq ft of commercial space will be created, intended for scientific businesses seeking to locate close to the Francis Crick Institute, Alan Turing Institute and other organisations located in London’s Knowledge Quarter.

Under the terms of the agreement, the British Library will grant a long lease of the land to SMBL – the library’s development partner – a company wholly owned by Japanese real estate firm Mitsui Fudosan.

Continues…

The library said it will be seeking the support of “visionary philanthropists and partners” to support the project.

State-of-the-art new spaces

Arts Minister Chris Bryant said the “ambitious transformation” will result in new spaces to “showcase our national story and history”.

“The creation of a new world-class commercial science and innovation space in London’s Knowledge Quarter will also help encourage investment in this vital sector in the UK. I look forward to seeing how this major development will benefit the local community and beyond, supporting growth and innovation.”

Rebecca Lawrence, chief executive of the British Library, said the partnership with Mitsui Fudosan will enable it to fulfil its long-held vision to extend its St Pancras site.

“The plans will open up the library even further, creating an expanded national library with state-of-the-art new spaces, harnessing the power of collaboration to build a new public realm linking communities and the Knowledge Quarter and deliver significant investment in the UK,” she said.

“We look forward to working with philanthropists, our partners and community to create a groundbreaking new hub for science, innovation and knowledge that will welcome future generations of visitors, learners, researchers and budding entrepreneurs.”

Takeshi Iwama, chief executive of Mitsui Fudosan UK, said the library is “one of the UK’s most important cultural institutions”.

“Our development commitment represents what we believe to be one of the largest single real estate investments into London by a Japanese company to date. We have already acquired significant expertise in the life sciences sector across Japan and the US over almost a decade and will be bringing this to the British Library extension development, our first in this sector in Europe.”