Banking group HSBC is leaving its HQ building in Canary Wharf in 2027 after 25 years and relocating to the City, according to media reports.
According to The Times, when the group’s lease at 8 Canada Square expires in 2027, it intends to downsize to Orion Capital Managers’ 556,000 sq ft redevelopment of the former BT head office Panorama St Paul’s at 81 Newgate Street.
HSBC has been weighing up several new office locations across London since it informed staff last year that it was thinking of leaving the tower, which it has occupied since 2002.
The banking group is cutting its global office footprint by around 40% after embracing hybrid working following the pandemic.
Reuters also reported the news that HSBC intended to swap its Canary Wharf tower, which is owned by Qatar Investment Authority, for a smaller office in the City after seeing a company memo.
Commenting on the news, Andrew Mawson, founder of global consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates, said: “HSBC is showing foresight by using the move to hybrid working to allow it to have a smaller, greener, more flexible headquarters that is more convenient for employees. With our research covering more than 200 workplaces worldwide showing that, given a choice, knowledge workers will come into the office less than two days a week, the world will become divided between enlightened employers embracing new ways of working to be more efficient and ditch expensive real estate, and the old command and control bosses mandating staff to be in the office the majority of the time whether it makes sense for them or not.”
