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Citigroup Said to Offer London Tower Space After Job Cuts

Citigroup Said to Offer London Tower Space After Job Cuts

Citigroup Said to Offer London Tower Space After Job Cuts
A Citibank Inc. bank branch (Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. is weighing subleasing space in London’s Canary Wharf district after cutting staff numbers in the U.K. capital, according to three people with knowledge of the plan.

The bank has offered to rent about 300,000 square feet (28,000 square meters) in its 25 Canada Square tower to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The government tax collector is looking for a new east London office and has short-listed buildings including the 1.1 million square foot Citigroup tower and plots in the Stratford district owned by LendLease Group and Westfield Corp., the people said.

Spokesmen for Citigroup, Westfield and Lend Lease declined to comment. HMRC is considering options for the location of its new regional centers and will confirm its decision once staff have been informed, a spokesman said by e-mail.

Citigroup’s global workforce shrank by about 8 percent to 220,000 people in the 12 months through September, according to a company filing. In the U.K. it began cutting about 70 traders and salespeople in April.

The lender already subleases about half of the space in the 42-story tower, which together with the adjoining 33 Canada Square building is known as the Citigroup Centre. It is the joint second-tallest building in the east London financial district, alongside the headquarters of HSBC Holdings Plc. Both towers were completed in 2002.

Banks and money managers are also reviewing their office requirements in the capital following the Brexit vote, with Credit Agricole SA re-evaluating plans to move its London headquarters to the Canary Wharf financial center, two people with knowledge of the matter said last month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Sidders in London at jsidders@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Neil Callanan at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Michael Shanahan, Jon Menon