Pearson to sell FT HQ

Pearson is to put the Financial Times’s building, 1 Southwark Bridge, SE1, on the south bank of the River Thames up for sale. Knight Frank and JLL are understood to have been appointed to look for a buyer for the 154,505 sq ft 1980s-built office space, which will present a number of redevelopment opportunities when the FT vacates next year. The FT was sold by Pearson in 2015 to Japanese media company Nikkei, which subsequently decided to relocate it to Obayashi Corporation’s Bracken House, EC4. Pearson has been looking to reduce its global real estate holdings to fewer than 100 office locations by 2020 as part of a restructuring programme that began last year to turn it into a leaner and more-agile business. In 2014 the company had 200 office locations worldwide. Pearson, Knight Frank and JLL declined to comment. To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette