EY in talks to close London HQ as staff work from home
afr.comLondon | EY is considering moving out of its London headquarters as staff increasingly work from home and the firm tries to reduce its carbon emissions.
The big four auditor has launched a property review of its More London office on the south bank of the Thames, near London Bridge, according to people familiar with the matter. EY’s 25-year lease on the tower block expires in 2028.
EY wants to move to a more environmentally friendly building to help achieve its net-zero target by 2025, according to one person.
EY staff are also spending less time in the office after the pandemic changed working patterns. The company moved to a hybrid policy in 2021, saying at the time that it expected most staff to work at least two days a week from home. Still, occupancy levels are nearly 88 per cent during peak times between Tuesday and Thursday, another person said.
They said the review was still in the early stages and no decision had been made. The news was reported earlier by the UK Telegraph.
“As a growing business with over 20 offices across the UK, we continually review our real estate footprint. We do not comment on speculation,” EY said in a statement.
The London Bridge building, which has been the headquarters of EY’s UK and Ireland business since 2003, accommodates thousands of staff including EY’s global executive team.
Bloomberg
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