Financial giant moves 600 staff to stunning Reading town centre office

A financial giant is the latest huge company to make Reading town centre its home.

KPMG has returned to Reading after a long absence, having been in Theale since 1995.

The company is now based on the top two floors of 2 Forbury Place, near Reading Crown Court and Forbury Gardens.

The move, which was announced in 2018, will also see the global firm create hundreds of new jobs in the town after signing a 15 year lease on the office.

The company originally had an office in Station Road from the 1970s until it moved to Arlington Business Park in the mid 1990s.

The office is one of the company's largest, with 600 staff based there, and another 200 planned to join in the next three years.

Andrew Morgan, KPMG’s South region chair and Reading office senior partner, said: “This is an incredibly exciting development for the region’s business, and we plan to have a further 200 people at 2 Forbury Place over the next three years.

“It is important to us to be based in a location that will help us to attract and retain talent – and with everything that Reading has to offer on our doorstep, along with its vibrant business community, we’re in the best position possible.”

He added: “2 Forbury Place really is stunning.

"Key for us is flexibility, and the space has been designed to ensure that all our teams and clients can work better together.

"There are no rigid seating plans, and the focus isn’t about sitting at one desk all day.

“The office takes our sense of community into account with plenty of space to eat and take time out – and we’ve been enjoying the views over Reading and the surrounding countryside to the north.

"At the heart is our restaurant, which features a fantastic mural hand-painted by artists.”