Lloyds Banking Group to sell off landmark Bristol office and move thousands of jobs

Canons House has been under-utilised in recent years according to Lloyds, and staff will be moved to their other office in Harbourside.

Lloyds Banking Group is planning to sell off its landmark office in Bristol and move the more than 2,000 staff based there to their second office in the city.

All of the 2,350 staff based at Canons House will be moved to the bank's Harbourside office in 2022, following a review of the company's property portfolio.

Lloyds announced the news to staff on Wednesday 6 October. The bank's employees have spent more than three decades there, with Lloyds buying Canons House in 1990.

But now the bank is hoping to discuss selling the property with Bristol City Council, to see if there are occupiers, developers or investors willing to invest in redeveloping the site.

Jeremy Hayward, group ambassador for the South West at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We have announced plans to bring our Bristol-based teams together in one location.

"By having our colleagues based in one large site in the city, rather than two under-occupied large buildings, which require heating and lighting, we will significantly reduce our environmental impact in the city of Bristol."

The announcement follows Lloyds' strategy review in update earlier this year, which considered reducing the number of its offices around the UK, and examined a hybrid-working plan for staff.

In the statement, the bank said it expects around 80 per cent of its employees to adopt a "hybrid work style" following the pandemic.

The news comes as Lloyds Banking Group forges ahead with plans to close a number of its branches around the UK.

In June, the group said 44 of its Lloyds Bank and Halifax branches would shut - but with no compulsory redundancies.

This will leave the bank with 779 Lloyds branches, 560 Halifax branches, as well as 184 Bank of Scotland branches.