On 15th February 2017, the brand-new lobby of World Trade Center Gibraltar was packed full to celebrate the formal opening of the building. Within just one month of this ceremony, the building was 98.5% occupied, with nearly 48% of those occupants being new investors to Gibraltar. Five years on and despite a global pandemic, the building is 100% occupied this February.
The World Trade Center is home to a wide array of exciting businesses, ranging from established gaming companies with leading global brands and reputations to fast growth start-ups and trailblazers to the new industries that Gibraltar is welcoming. Many start-ups have made use of the high-quality co-working space and serviced offices provided by Regus over these five years, and several companies have successfully developed new business relationships with other building occupants, reaffirming one of the fundamental benefits of a World Trade Center and its active encouragement of networking and social circulation spaces within the building.
World Trade Center Gibraltar has also delivered significant benefits to the local community, generating an annual sum of £65,000,000 to the Gibraltar economy, as outlined in an expert study, conducted by Nairne Limited in October 2017. In a visit to Gibraltar from New York, the CEO of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) commented on the Gibraltar World Trade Center being a leading influence in the global network of 321 World Trade Centers, throughout over 90 countries and across 72 capital cities. World Trade Center Gibraltar was further recognised in this regard by becoming a board member of the WTCA, in September 2021 – giving Gibraltar an influential voice at the table of a globally recognised and renowned association.
The building has become a hub for several events focused on various subjects from emerging sectors to regulatory frameworks, to gender equality to coding, even to yoga sessions in the building’s landscaped atrium! These events have offered opportunities not only to our building occupants, but also to other Gibraltar businesses or individuals looking to find ways in which to embrace both business and personal growth.
Throughout these first 5 years, World Trade Center Gibraltar has been involved in raising £152,590 for several charitable causes including GBC Open Day, the Duke of Edinburgh Charity and GibSams, locally. In doing so, the World Trade Center has fielded teams in several sporting initiatives, from golf to paddle to beach volleyball, all in the name of charity. Internationally, at the end of 2021, World Trade Center Gibraltar was involved in funding Operation Magic Carpet, a humanitarian rescue of 92 people from Kabul, in Afghanistan. This project touched the heart of many in Gibraltar and at the start of February 2022, 14 of the 92 Afghan nationals have travelled to France under a French government asylum scheme, but 78 remain in rental accommodation in Islamabad, Pakistan. The majority of those remaining are women and young children - donations are still sought via the Operation Magic Carpet page on the GoFundMe website (https://gofund.me/a8655716).
Gregory Butcher, Chairman of World Trade Center Gibraltar, outlined “But this is just the start! As we mark our 5th Birthday, we thank all our partners that work with us day to day to make World Trade Center the hive of activity that it is. We’re excited for what the next 5 years will bring and what the World Trade Center can continue to contribute towards Gibraltar’s economic growth and for jobs and investment in our community”.
