Boots is set to bring consultants in to decide the future of its 360-acre HQ campus at Beeston.
The group is cutting head office numbers to 1,500; leaving both empty office buildings and potential development land.
The pending sale of Boots Healthcare International – thought likely to complete around the month-end – will also create significant additional space.
However, decades of use by Boots Pharmaceuticals mean the sprawling site will need extensive remediation.
A major environmental study would have to be commissioned before decontamination could begin, and potential development options assessed.
A Boots spokesman said the company remained committed to the campus, which it has owned since the 1920s.
Boots Opticians moved its head office to Beeston from Nottingham’s Lace Market in 2002, following earlier warehouse relocations.
The site includes Britain’s biggest Grade I-listed industrial building, known as D10, which has 700,000 sq ft on four floors.
Chief executive Richard Baker has hinted that the land might ultimately house an enterprise park, named after the company’s founder, Sir Jesse Boot.
However, the company spokesman said no decision would be taken about its possible future until BHI’s auction had been completed.
GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer are considered front-runners to clinch the £1 billion-plus deal.
References: EGi News 06/09/05
