The city skyline is set to be transformed with over 1 million square feet of office construction planned to be completed from 2017.

Plans to turn Birmingham into a global financial services hub by 2030 come as last year saw the highest take-up levels in office space since before the recession – with £630m transacted in deals within the city centre, compared to just £70.5m in 2013.

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “This is an important part of our plan to turn Birmingham into a global city within 20 years.

“We’re investing on an unprecedented scale to entice businesses here, and the sheer scale of planned development is attracting financial firms from across the world.

“Birmingham is competing with international financial services hubs like Zurich and Frankfurt as it bids to bring even more global businesses to the city.”

HSBC is moving its ring-fenced banking operation to the city and is forward purchasing the 210,000 sq ft 2 Arena Central site in central Birmingham.

Record levels of office construction are an integral part of Birmingham’s bid to attract global investment, with the city aiming to replicate the success of Canary Wharf.

Neil Rami, chief executive of Marketing Birmingham, said: “Birmingham has worked incredibly hard to transform itself into a prime destination for financial and professional services firms.

“Those firms demand and need world-class office space, and the city is providing that on an unprecedented scale.”

Construction will be centred around the Colmore Business District, with the city’s £600 million Snow Hill Masterplan adding skyscrapers and transforming the skyline of the area.

Work is due to start on the 400,000 sq ft Three Snowhill building – which will offer new Grade A office, retail and leisure space – while the first phase of Paradise, the £500 million regeneration project located nearby, will see 330,000 sq ft of speculative office space delivered in 2018.

Martin Guest, managing director of the Birmingham office of CBRE, said: “Birmingham city centre has a significant number of major construction projects underway at the moment.

“While the end is in sight for major infrastructure projects such as the New Street Station upgrade and the Metro extension, commercial development projects such as Paradise and Arena Central are now coming on stream and the city centre residential market has been reignited after seven tough recessionary years.”