Capital Tower, originally known as Pearl Assurance House, is a

high-rise building A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. Standing at to roof height, Capital Tower is slightly taller than Stadium House, which stands at to roof height (though inclusion of the antenna gives Stadium House a pinnacle height of ).

History

The

foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

s were built on the ruins of a 12th-century

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

, much of which had still stood until 1955. These were completely cleared for the tower to be constructed, although it is probable that under modern planning laws this would not have been allowed. Entrance to Capital Tower 18 March 2020

Construction was started in 1967 and completed on schedule at a cost of £1.5 million, with the building being officially opened on 7 April 1970 by

Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan. After 1729, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of Glamorgan. The post was abolished on 31 March 1974. Lord Lieutenants of Glamorgan to 1974 * Henry Herbert, 2nd E ...

, Sir

Cennydd Traherne Sir Cennydd George Traherne (14 December 1910 – 26 January 1995) was a notable Welsh landowner. Biography Sir Cennydd was born at Coedarhydyglyn near Cardiff, and was educated at Wellington College and Brasenose College, Oxford. He owned D ...

. It was originally known as Pearl Assurance House, after the

Pearl Assurance Phoenix Group Holdings plc is a provider of insurance services based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was founded in 1857 as The Pearl Loan Company an ...

company. For a long period it was the tallest building in Wales, until it was overtaken by Swansea's

The Tower, Meridian Quay The Tower, Meridian Quay is a residential tower in Swansea, Wales. It is the tallest building in Wales. Standing at 107 m (351 ft), Meridian Quay is the only skyscraper in Wales (buildings over 100 m tall) and one of several high-rises in Swans ...

completed in 2009. The building provides of floor space, Originally, a jobcentre,

bookshop Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

and galleries were built on the lower floors, but in 1998 they were replaced by a new set of developments including cafe-bars, and the

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

s were re-clad. At this time the building received its current name, Capital Tower. On 25 November 2002, the tower was sold for £17.4 million by Aberdeen Property Investors to the Raven Group. In August 2012,

DTZ DTZ was a London-based commercial property company. Tracing its origins back to 1853, it merged with Cushman & Wakefield in 2015 and its brand was retired. History Debenham & Tewson was established in London in 1853. In 1913 it merged with Ch ...

secured the £12.35 million sale of Capital Tower and Friary House to the Topland Group. In 2018 the building was for sale at an asking price of £23.4 million. The building currently houses offices for

The Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

, ranstad, AA, DevOpsGroup,

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

, Yard,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

and Dolmans.

References

External links

Capital Tower – official website
* {{Landmarks and Visitor Attractions in Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Office buildings in Cardiff Towers in Wales Skyscrapers in Wales Skyscraper office buildings in the United Kingdom Office buildings completed in 1970

History

See also

References

External links