Barclays Wealth has announced a new office in Cambridge in the east of England, to expand its footprint in the region and as part of a growth programme by the firm, this publication can exclusively report.

The intention to open an office in the university city had been previously reported in August but the exact timing and location were revealed yesterday. The office will be in Mortlock House, Vision Park in Histon and headed by Simon Smith, regional manager of East Anglia.

This is the second East Anglian region office for Barclays Wealth, it having already opened a facility in Norwich earlier in the summer.  

Barclays Wealth’s East Anglia team has grown to around 25 employees.  This includes private bankers, investment managers, wealth advisors and credit specialists.

The expansion of Barclays Wealth’s regional network comes at a time when the firm has been adding to its UK headcount, David Semaya, head of the UK and Ireland Private Bank at Barclays Wealth, told this publication recently.

“Momentum [at Barclays Wealth] is still building and, despite the very challenging economic environment at the moment, the investment we’re making into the business is paying off,” he said, adding that Barclays Wealth may add more UK offices in 2012.

The demand for wealth structuring and planning advice remains a strong driver of business, which stands apart from the vagaries of the global economy, Semaya said. 

Barclays Wealth in the UK has added over 60 new private bankers so far this year.

The ultra high net worth business is also gaining a lot of traction and Barclays Wealth has expanded the team this year with several senior hires, the most recent one being Laurent Gibassier as managing director, he said, adding that it is also planning to announce several more significant hires over the coming weeks.

Barclays Wealth oversaw total client assets of £170 billion (around $263.2 billion) at 30 June 2011.