The jobs keep rolling in as BlackRock expands

Published on Wednesday 2 March 2011 16:52

THE city is celebrating its second jobs boost in a week with investment management firm BlackRock set to swell its workforce by an extra 240 workers.

Today Finance Minister John Swinney MSP will announce more details about the investment outside the company's Scottish HQ on Torphicen Street.

News of BlackRock's expansion comes days after Richard Branson's Virgin Money revealed it was moving into the historic former headquarters of Scottish & Newcastle in St Andrew Square, with plans to increase its 80-strong Capital staff by another 300 positions. It is thought that more than 200 people are already employed at BlackRock's Edinburgh branch.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the BlackRock announcement and said it seemed the city had survived the most damning forecasts about its future growth.

He said: "Throughout the recession, the financial services sector in Edinburgh has defied the worst predictions and that is because of the quality of the staff that work in it and the desirability of living and working in the city of Edinburgh.

"Having said that, it is immensely good news that BlackRock is joining the growing number of people making new investments in the city and creating more employment, which is vitally important at this time."

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the council's economic development convener, said the news of more jobs being created in the city proved that Edinburgh's reputation as a financial powerhouse remained intact.

"I am delighted to hear that BlackRock Investments are expanding their Edinburgh-based operations, with the potential for a significant number of new jobs being located within the Capital," he said.

"This, together with Virgin Money's announcement last week, underlines once again that Edinburgh is open for business and is still considered a prominent European financial centre."

In 2009, US investment manager BlackRock bought the asset management arm of banking giant Barclays in a deal that was worth 8.4 billion.

Last week, the Evening News reported how Virgin Money was set to move into the former headquarters of Scottish & Newcastle in a move which was hailed as "fantastic news" for the Capital.

It means that the former Scottish & Newcastle headquarters will be fully occupied when the company joins existing tenants Rathbones and Bowleven.

The office became available in 2008, shortly after S&N was taken over by Dutch brewer Heineken.