HSBC to cut real estate by a fifth this year
HSBC aims to cut its office space by a fifth before the end of this year, as corporate occupiers continue to rethink their real estate footprint in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a presentation published alongside the bank’s first-quarter results, the bank said it would reduce its global office footprint by 3.6m sq ft, or 20%, in 2021, “reflecting new ways of working”.
The company said in February that its long-term goal was to reduce its office space by 40% under its “Future of Work” scheme.
HSBC aims to cut its office space by a fifth before the end of this year, as corporate occupiers continue to rethink their real estate footprint in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a presentation published alongside the bank’s first-quarter results, the bank said it would reduce its global office footprint by 3.6m sq ft, or 20%, in 2021, “reflecting new ways of working”.
The company said in February that its long-term goal was to reduce its office space by 40% under its “Future of Work” scheme.
Chief executive Noel Quinn told investors today: “We’re applying all that we’ve learned through lockdown, combined with our digital investment, to improve the way we work. We’re moving to a hybrid model wherever possible, giving our people the flexibility to work in a way that suits both them and their customers.
“We will need less office space as a result, and we have a plan to reduce our global office footprint by more than 3.6m sq ft or around 20% by the end of 2021.”
A spokesman for the bank said that no branches would be affected, nor the bank’s Canary Wharf headquarters. They added that the reductions would be made in other commercial space, and would likely be handled on a country by country basis by local teams.
The bank is one of several financial services groups in the process of scaling back real estate portfolios after a year of many staff working from home.
Santander has tasked Colliers with overseeing a real estate disposal programme across its UK branch and office network, while Lloyds Banking Group expects to offload a fifth of its office space by 2023.
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