Amazon creates 3,000 jobs as it moves out of Slough HQ

Employees will be based in new 15-storey Shoreditch office or Farringdon building

Amazon is to move out of its UK headquarters in Slough and into a plush 15-storey office, with plans showing space for a swimming pool, tennis court and basketball court on the roof terrace.

The 600,000 sq ft building, dubbed Principal Place, is located near Liverpool Street Station, and will hold more than 5,000 employees - the firm currently has 1,700 staff, and so this means the company is creating over 3,000 new jobs in East London. Amazon has additional staff working in its various warehouses across the UK.

The company's Slough-based staff are to start working in Amazon's central London office in Farringdon next year, and by 2017 many of them will transfer to the new Shoreditch building. The company is yet to decide which building will be its new UK HQ.

The new building, which is expected to house shops and cafés once completed, will be situated in an area where many tech start-ups are currently based.

Christopher North, Amazon UK's managing director, said that the latest move and creation of jobs is in line with the company's investment of over £1bn and creation of more than 7,000 permanent jobs across the UK.

"To support our continued growth in the UK, we have secured this exceptional building, giving us the capacity to hire thousands of new employees in London in the coming years, in addition to the thousands of permanent roles we will create across our UK fulfilment and customer service centres."

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, said: "Our city is the perfect home for top tech talent and I am very pleased that Amazon has confirmed their intention to create thousands of new jobs at a major new base in east London.

"We are proving time and again that we have the right places and people to support this vibrant sector."