BT prepares sale of City of London headquarters

BT Group is preparing to sell off its London headquarters in St Paul’s after almost 150 years in as part of its operations rejig that aims to cut £1.5bn of costs within three years.

BT is close to appointing advisers to prepare a sale-and-leaseback deal for the St Paul's site, The Times reported, as the company takes advantage of a resilient commercial property market. The company is expected to seek £200m with a three-year lease.

Back in May, the FTSE 100 company announced it would axe approximately 13,000 jobs over the next three years and move out of its headquarters in central London after almost 150 years as it tries to cut £1.5bn in costs.

Chief executive Gavin Patterson, who is stepping down later this year, said at the time that the offie rejig was needed to do this to be competitive in the future. "If we are compared with our peers we are frankly too complex and overweight. While I recognise the pain, ultimately it is the right thing to do for the business.”

The City property market has attracted record investment since the Brexit vote in 2016, companies such as UBS and Goldman Sachs have also decided to sell their headquarters.