Barclays Bank is to move from the City to a new purpose-built headquarters at Canary Wharf. The move will affect the majority of Barclays 5000 non-branch staff currently based in the City and West End of London.
The new building will be around 1 million square feet in size and located at the site known as BP1, at Churchill Place, adjoining Canada Square at Canary Wharf. It is anticipated that Barclays will occupy 650,000 square feet initially. Design work is currently underway and construction of the building is expected to commence before the end of this year. It is expected that all Barclays staff who are moving across will do so during 2005.
Barclays buildings in Lombard Street, St Swithin’s Lane and Pall Mall will be included in the review, although the branch at Lombard Street is expected to remain. An office will be retained in the West End for Barclays Private Clients. Murray House in Royal Mint Court, EC4 will also be retained, to house Barclays Global Investors staff, and Barclays Capital staff will remain in their current building at Canary Wharf.
Commenting on the move, Barclays CEO Matthew Barrett says: "Barclays staff are currently dotted around London in sites across the City and West End. Bringing most of them together into one site would allow our businesses and head office functions to work more efficiently."
Barclays will be joining a host of blue-chip companies who have already made the decision to re-locate to the Canary Wharf district. These include Citigroup, HSBC, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Credit Suisse First Boston, Lehman Brothers, Clifford Chance, Bank of New York, Bear Stearns International, the Northern Trust Company, the McGraw-Hill Companies and Texaco.