Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS Greenwich Capital To Move to Stamford

STAMFORD, CT-The State of Connecticut has struck a deal with Royal Bank of Scotland and RBS Greenwich Capital to consolidate their respective North American headquarters operations in New York City and Greenwich to a new $400-million, 500,000-sf complex to be built here. Royal Bank of Scotland’s North American headquarters is currently located at 101 Park Ave. in Manhattan, while RBS Greenwich Capital’s headquarters is at 600 Steamboat Rd. in Greenwich.

Although company officials had little to say about their plans except for a brief statement, a spokesman did confirm that the project site would be located on property along Washington Boulevard near Interstate 95. Louis Dreyfus Property Group has been marketing the site for almost five years for a 23-story, 574,000-sf office building called Connecticut Place. Sources indicate that Newmark and CB Richard Ellis were involved in the deal.

The project would relocate 550 employees from Royal Bank of Scotland’s New York City operations and 700 workers from RBS Greenwich Capital’s offices, state officials say. “While we recognize there are a number of approvals required from the state, the City of Stamford and within our company, we are hopeful this proposal will become a reality,” the Royal Bank of Scotland and RBS Greenwich Capital note in their statement. State officials say the new facility would also generate an additional 600 jobs within three years from the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

James F. Abromaitis, commissioner of the Department of Economic & Community Development for the State of Connecticut, says that the state and city have been in negotiations with the pair for about six to seven months. He says the company had considered other locations, including some out of state, and that they hope to have the new headquarters building up and running sometime in 2008. “New York was in the mix and the company also mentioned Charlotte and Tampa as some viable alternatives for a piece of this.”

“By helping a company of RBS’ stature expand in Connecticut, we are reinforcing the message that we are a prime location for financial service companies,” Gov. Jodi Rell says. “At the same time, we are making an investment in an industry that is vital to our long-term economic prosperity.”

Before a shovel goes in the ground on the project, a number of city and state approvals are required, including a thumbs up from the state legislature on an incentive package that calls for up to $100 million in state Urban Reinvestment Tax Credits for the project. In addition, the Connecticut Development Authority would provide a sales tax exemption on materials used in constructing the new building, which state officials said would be worth millions of dollars. The city is also expected to offer some incentives for the project as well.

State officials say that the project is expected to bring in $204 million in net new state tax revenue over 10 years, including $63 million in local taxes over the same period. If finalized, the Royal Bank of Scotland/RBS Greenwich Capital building would be the site of the third largest employer in Stamford, behind only UBS and GE Capital, state officials note.