The area around Lime St, where the Lloyds Building now stands, has been at the heart of financial commerce for centuries. It was on Lombard St, back in the late 1600s, where merchants and ship-owners would meet at Lloyds Coffee House to discuss maritime insurance, shipbroking and foreign trade. It didn’t take long for their informal convivial chat to be formalised and regulated. However, it’s unlikely they could ever have foreseen how they helped pave the way for the towering buildings that represent the epicentre of the financial services and insurance industry in the UK today.
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