London is a vibrant, exciting city filled with job opportunities attracting more than 8 million people into the capital daily. The centre of financial services and banking is at the heart of the UK banking system and has two main locations, the city or Square Mile as it is called and Canary Wharf.
Square mile
The Bank of England, The Royal Exchange, and Mansion House, are some of the most famous buildings in the City. The Bank of England was built in the 17th century and today overseas the printing and issuing of currency. The Lloyds Building and The Gherkin are modern additions which provide offices for over 300,000 commuters.
Canary Wharf
Southwark and London Bridge
The area of Southwark has recently undergone extensive redevelopment, as it is on the site of the 1.5 billion transformation of Elephant and Castle. There are over 300 businesses and 25,000 employees working in this part of London. London Bridge and Bankside are aiming to bring in 30,000 new jobs and 2,500 more homes between 2001 and 2026. Hopefully these will be more affordable apartments in London to rent and buy. London Bridge is currently the location of the tallest building in Europe, The Shard, which was opened in June this year. The Shard stands at 309.6 metres tall, with 72 inhabitable floors, along with offices and restaurants. It also has the highest open air observation deck on the 72nd floor.
West End
This up and coming area now has many creative and design businesses and agencies in the London Borough of Hackney. Since the late 1990s, Shoreditch has become a popular part of London. Many web based companies such as Last.fm and SocialGo are in this area. It used to be a mainly poorer residential area but now many former warehouses and industrial buildings have been converted into luxury flats.
Read more: 5 of the Best Bridges in London