Glaxo Wellcome Plc and Smithkline Beecham Plc are to consolidate their management, commercial and administrative offices at three locations in south-east England following their impending merger.
The companies announced on May 10 that the global headquarters of Glaxo Smithkline Plc would be a new office complex currently being constructed by SB at Brentford, Middlesex. The United Kingdom operating company is to be based at Stockley Park, near Heathrow airport, currently the site of GW's UK operations. GW's current corporate headquarters at Greenford, Middlesex, will become predominantly a site for research and development.
Seven other facilities owned by the two companies will be vacated by the beginning of 2002. These are Mundells at Welwyn Garden City, SB House and New Horizons Court at Brentford (all belonging to SB) and GW's leased properties at Slough, Ealing Broadway, Southall and Stockley Park Lakeside.
Glaxo not biggest Glaxo Wellcome Plc is no longer the United Kingdom's largest company, according to a survey by the Financial Times. The survey ranked companies by market capitalisation (the share price multiplied by the number of shares issued) and was published in a supplement to the Financial Times on May 4.
Glaxo Wellcome was the largest company on September 30, 1998, but by January 4, 2000, it had fallen to fifth place with a value of £61.5bn. It was overtaken by the recently merged BP Amoco Plc (£116.1bn), British Telecommunications Plc (£92.6bn), Vodafone Airtouch Plc (£91.7bn) and HSBC Holdings Plc (£69.6bn).
Smithkline Beecham Plc was in eighth position, down from fourth, with a value of £42.5bn. The combined Glaxo Smithkline Plc would have been in second place at £104bn.