Construction firm named to deliver new headquarters building for Cardiff Council

German-owned construction group Goldbeck has been chosen to build a new 100,000 sq ft headquarters for Cardiff Council in Cardiff Bay. The new HQ is scheduled to open around the same time as the 15,000-seater indoor arena - subject to financial close this spring - in 2027.

Both schemes form part of the wider Atlantic Wharf 30-acre mixed-use regeneration scheme, with plans for leisure, restaurant and hotel developments, as well as office and residential.

Goldbeck UK has entering into a pre-contract service agreement (PCSA) with the council - which will finalise the cost and design of the building - before entering into a development agreement later this year.

The project will be the biggest undertaken by Goldbeck’s UK subsidiary. It will finance its construction through its group investment company Indigo. On completion Cardiff Council, using its long-term borrowing powers with the Treasury’s Public Works Loans Board (PWLB), will acquire the building.

The council’s cost, while yet to be finalised, will be around £60m. The payment of interest and capital on its PWLB borrowing will partly be covered from savings generating by operating a smaller and more energy efficient building that its current 270,000 sq ft County Hall building. The existing building will be demolished with the land freed up for mainly residential development at Atlantic Wharf.

The building will also provide new studio and production facilities for the Wales Millennium Centre to help training and developing talent in the performing arts. It will arranged its own funding mechanism for ownership post construction.

Craig Davies, managing director of Goldbeck UK, said: “The new County Hall to be built by Goldbeck UK for Cardiff Council at Atlantic Wharf will use our industry-leading construction model to deliver an operationally zero-carbon building.

“The new office space will provide a modern working environment more closely tailored to the council’s needs and have significantly lower operating costs to the current building it replaces.

"As we manage all aspects of the project from architectural design to the manufacture of materials and assembly on-site, we ensure tight cost control, which is a top priority for Cardiff Council and vital to the success of the Atlantic Wharf area redevelopment as a future working and cultural hub for the city.”

He added: “Atlantic Wharf is exactly the type of mixed-use sustainable development project delivering modern commercial space, private and affordable housing and leisure facilities, with new urban infrastructure, that is urgently needed across the UK to support local communities and drive the country’s economic growth. The UK potentially will be the biggest construction growth market in Europe over the next 10 years.