The London office, the empty boxes and the £1bn tax loophole

2 America Square, an office block leased by a Virgin Islands-based company, is at the centre of the court case. Photograph: Brian Anthony/Alamy

From the outside, the seven-storey building at 2 America Square looks like any other office block in the heart of London’s financial district.

Located about half a mile from Tower Bridge, one might expect it to be a hive of commercial activity, teeming with employees holding important meetings. However, much of the property is home not to staff vying for their next bonus, but to stacks of nondescript black boxes arranged in neat lines.