London-based Barclays Bank, an international financial service provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management, selected McKinney, Texas, as the new site for one of the company's innovative technology centers.

This fall Barclays will move into the McKinney Corporate Center 1 building at Craig Ranch, developed by VanTrust Real Estate. Barclays Technology Center will initially occupy over 40,000 square feet of Class A office space located at 6800 Weiskopf Avenue in McKinney. Barclays Technology Center will support the bank's operations globally.

The Barclays Technology Center in McKinney, will support the bank's growing industry requirements, provide technology support to the business and develop solutions for all the group's activities and requirements.

"We are excited to bring Barclays, a global Fortune 500 Company, to McKinney," said McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller. "We are committed to working with Barclays now and in the future as we welcome Barclays to our corporate community. The City of McKinney is committed to working with corporations in a timely and efficient manner as we strive to attract new business development and expand existing businesses consistent with one of our top City Council priorities. I appreciate Barclays' confidence in our community with their decision to locate in our Corporate Center."

"McKinney presented Barclays a competitive opportunity with a high profile location along the Sam Rayburn Tollway, a highly educated and abundant labor pool, and sufficient parking for their employees," said McKinney Economic Development Corporation Board Chairman, Ernest Lynch III. "Our economic development team was able to move quickly to address Barclays' needs."

"We are excited to be working with a premiere multinational company such as Barclays," said Ran Holman, Executive Vice President at VanTrust Real Estate. "Barclays' selection of McKinney Corporate Center 1 at Craig Ranch is monumental. Craig Ranch, with its array of residential, retail and quality of life amenities is poised as a strong corporate destination. The Barclays name and the quality it represents is consistent with the objectives and standards of the City of McKinney and McKinney Corporate Center," Holman added.

"McKinney offers corporate clients a special place to live and work," said McKinney Community Development Corporation Board Chairman George Fuller. "The city offers a unique lifestyle to corporations and residents. It sits in the center of an outstanding high-tech labor pool that is attracted to the city's exceptional quality of life, family-oriented lifestyle, high quality schools and some of the region's most reasonable, high-quality housing."