Jobs safe as Amex stays in Brighton

8:20am Saturday 6th September 2008

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More than 3,000 jobs have been safeguarded after one of the county's largest employers committed its long term future to the area.

Fears American Express would quit its European customer service headquarters in Brighton have been laid to rest after the firm revealed it was to redevelop a new building behind its existing base.

A team of Brighton and Hove City Council staff, councillors and business leaders have spent the last three years negotiating with the firm to secure its future in Edward Street.

The Argus understands Brighton and Hove’s biggest private employers had considered moves to Crawley, Exeter, Scotland and mainline Europe before opting to stay on the Sussex coast.

It means that Amex will continue to employ 3,000 people in Brighton and contribute £300 million a year to the city’s economy - 7% of the total.

The news is a huge boost to business in Sussex after a string of multinational companies have shed hundreds of jobs in the last year.

Tony Mernagh, executive director of Brighton and Hove Economic Forum, said: “It is not just the money that Amex’s brings - if they had decided to leave that would have sent a message to other international companies that Brighton can’t handle it.

“This is the best piece of news we have had in the last few years, especially with the delays and disappointments with other developments.

“This is a company that could go anywhere in the world and they will go where there is the best deal.

“So the decision is testament to the fact the city is a place to build and a place which offers the right work force.”

Councillor Ted Kemble, cabinet member for enterprise, employment and major projects, said: “This is very good news in the current economic situation.

“One of the councilís key priorities is growing the economy and providing first class office facilities is key to this.

“We will be doing all we can to make this happen in order to benefit local people.”

The credit card company intends to apply for planning permission to build a 265,000sq ft building behind Amex House, which is roughly the same size as the new development.

Following a public consultation in October it will submit a planning application in the first quarter of next year.

Amex hopes the council’s planning committee will agree to the proposal in early Summer 2009.

A spokeswoman for the firm said it did not know when the new building would open.

She added the future of Amex House, which has been a landmark on the Brighton’s skyline since it was built in 1977, had not yet been decided.

The firm said it did not intend to increase the number of employees at the office and the Burgess Hill centre would not be affected by the plans.

Senior Amex figure James Crotty said: “Our current and future plans represent a major investment in creating the best possible working environment for employees in our Brighton service centre.

“American Express is strongly committed to investing in growing its business and in investing in its service delivery centres to best meet the needs of its customers around the world.”

Drugs manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline announced in July it was cutting 650 jobs by closing its Crawley site from the end of 2011.

Some 600 jobs at Equiniti, Britainís biggest share registration company, are under threat at its head office in Lancing.

And Gatwick economy is facing threats to almost 1,000 jobs.

Siimon Burgess, former city council leader, led discussions with Amex for the council from 2005 to 2007 when they were deciding on their global investment strategy.

He said: “In these difficult economic times this is a massive vote of confidence in their Brighton staff who face tough competition from around the world.

“This vital decision shows how impressed Amex were with the vision that we showed them for a cosmopolitan city with international stature.”