Google unveils London 'groundscraper' HQ

£650m King's Cross base will be 20 metres longer than the Shard skyscraper is tall

Google's new UK headquarters in London will be longer than the Shard skyscraper is tall.

The internet giant unveiled its designs for its £650m, one million square foot base in King's Cross London. The building will be 330 metres in length - which is 20 metres more than the height of the Shard.

All of Google UK's staff currently based in Victoria and Holborn will relocate to the new headquarters once it is completed in 2016.

The finished development on the 2.4 acre site will be worth up to £1bn, sources told Reuters. The site will sit within a redevelopment area at King's Cross Central, which is expected to create 35,000 new jobs once regeneration is complete.

Construction will start at the beginning of 2014 if planning approval is gained, and it will be one of the firm's largest offices outside its ‘Googleplex' corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The firm's move is expected to draw tech start-ups to the King's Cross area and push up rents. Sources close to the project told Reuters that Google is expected to include a 20,000 square foot area for bike parking, a climbing wall between floors, and 50,000 sq ft of retail space.

Google UK's managing director, Dan Cobley, said: "Building our new headquarters in King's Cross is good for Google and good for London. We're committed to the UK and to playing a role in the regeneration of this historic area."