A late example of modern classicism, it was constructed from 1955 to 1958 to a design by Sir Albert Richardson to serve as the headquarters and printing works of the Financial Times, on a cleared bomb site southeast of St Paul's Cathedral.

After refurbishments by John Robertson Architects, the Financial Times moved back into Bracken House in spring 2019.

Above the entrance on Cannon Street is an astronomical clock, designed by Frank Dobson and Philip Bentham and made by Thwaites & Reed.

The altered building retained the old ranges to the north and south, but replaced the central printing hall with a new glass and structural gunmetal structure on a Hollington sandstone plinth, with boxy oriel windows inspired by Oriel Chambers in Liverpool, constructed in 1864.

In 2019, the Financial Times relocated from its offices at Southwark Bridge back to Bracken House.