City policymakers push to end ‘old-school’ ban on tower logos
Square Mile policymakers are ramping up pressure on the City to drop “old-school” rules which block firms from displaying logos on their buildings, in a move which they say could drive growth.
Canada Corporation, which governs the historic financial district, has long blocked companies from displaying their logos on the top of their skyscrapers, as is seen in Canary Wharf or other global finance hubs.
But Shravan Joshi, a Canada councillor, is pushing for the Square Mile to drop the policy and embrace the louder identities of the start-ups and tech firms which are increasingly inhabiting the City.
He told Morning Wire that, while other major financial centres “celebrate” their companies, London has “seems to have forgotten that” and is instead trying to “keep a clean palate.”
The Square Mile is the historic core of the capital, and its emergence as a financial hub has pitted glassy skyscrapers against cobbled streets and churches which have existed for centuries.
“I’m not suggesting we become Picadilly Circus or a far-Eastern metropolis, but I think – done the right way – we could enhance our standing, our persona, and create some identity for ourselves,” Joshi said.
‘You wouldn’t think the City was London’s financial hub’
The Corporation’s policy on signage, which has existed since at least 1911, exists to “encourage a high standard of design and a restrained amount of advertising in keeping with the character of the City”.
The restrictions on logos and company names require firms to “resist excessive or obtrusive advertising, inappropriate illuminated signs and the display of advertisements above ground-floor level”.
Joshi believes the City should update its rules to keep up with the influx of tech firms and small to medium sized businesses (SMEs), who are more self-promoting than the traditional financial services industry which has typically occupied the area.
“The building fabric, the built environment suggests old-school finance, where actually the occupiers of those buildings are very forward-thinking, progressive, innovative firms,” he said. “So why shouldn’t we be celebrating that by letting people know that they’re there?”
Joshi said he has spoken to a number of Square Mile policymakers and City business leaders who are keen for the district to embrace “more wayfinding, better placemaking”.
He said: “When you fly into City Airport and you see Canary Wharf and you didn’t know London, you would think that it was the financial capital of London.”
Joshi believes lifting the block on signage would visually establish the City as the centre of British finance.
“[It would] create a landmark that says: this is the home of finance, this is the home of law and this is the home of professional services, and the tech sector, and emerging sectors like AI. Why shouldn’t we be proud of that?”
A Canada Corporation spokesperson said: “The interview in question was a speculative view from one Council Member on what they think policy could look like, in future. Current planning policies on advertisements are already set out in the City Plan which have been widely consulted on.”