The nine-floor building, designed by British architecture firm Gollins, Melvin, Ward & Partners, was commissioned by the company in 1977 to consolidate their operations in Brighton, which had been spread over several sites.

[2] In October 2017 demolition was completed and the site was sold to First Base and Patron Capital, a pan-European institutional investor focused on property backed investments who proposed "a vibrant new mixed-use development including new homes, workspace and importantly, new jobs to revive this area of Brighton".

[4] One of these—and the most poverty-stricken and densely populated—was Carlton Hill, an area east of Old Steine and the Royal Pavilion and separated from the higher-class seafront development by Edward Street.

[6] American Express had a longstanding presence in Brighton and elsewhere in Sussex, and in 1968 they moved their Mechanical Accounting division on to one site—an office building (previously owned by another company) on Edward Street.

[7] Planning permission for the new development was granted on 4 November 2009,[15] with further conditions attached—in particular, American Express would have to give the neighbouring Carlton Hill Primary School £300,000 to compensate for the negative effect the new building would have on its playground, which would be overlooked.

The Brighton and Hove City Plan proposes 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of offices, restaurants, green spaces and some housing, with no building to exceed seven storeys in height.

[8] Its clean lines of contrasting blue-tinted glass and white GRP gave the building an "emphatic horizontality" which was made less harsh by the substantial chamfering of each corner and the set-back top storey.

[10] Local conservation group The Regency Society criticised its demolition, describing it as "arguably Brighton's best postwar building ... [offering] a splash of style in Edward Street's jumble of mediocrity.