Cameron's trade visit helps UK firms land China work

UK architect Benoy is to open an office in China after securing £4m of work in the country, as prime minister David Cameron promised “closer engagement” between UK business and the trading superpower.

Benoy won the work during a trade mission to China led by Cameron this week. Consultants including engineer Arup and masterplanner David Lock Associates also picked up work
in the country during the trip, signing contracts on Wednesday following three days of intensive trade talks between British and Chinese ministers.

Benoy, which also landed three contracts on a government trade mission to India over the summer, will open an office in Wangfu Jing, Beijing, on the city’s best-known shopping street. The office of five will be led by Jun Huang, a Benoy director from Beijing who has worked for the Newark and London offices.

The architect’s work includes a contract for Maxon Group to design a 700,000m2 mixed-use development Tongzhou Centre in the heart of Beijing’s business district, including two high-rise towers and a luxury hotel with an investment value of £930m. It also signed a contract this week to design the £560m, 500,000m2 Raffles City in Shenzhen, for CapitaLand; and a 400,000m2 development in Shanghai’s New Bund area, for client APP.

Benoy chairman, Graham Cartledge, said: “It is a privilege to be able to contribute to the evolution of the contemporary Chinese city and use our global expertise to design and deliver commercially successful developments.”

Masterplanner David Lock Associates is also considering opening an office in China after signing for its second job in the country this week. It has been appointed by Wuhan Planning Bureau to prepare urban design strategies and design codes for a 740ha area in Central Wuhan.

Engineer Arup, meanwhile, won a job to study greenhouse gas emissions in Beijing.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “I am pleased to see more and more companies capitalising on the opportunities offered by China’s development. I hope that this week’s visit will serve to open doors for more UK firms.”