Clifford Chance has become the latest big-name occupier looking at a cut to its office space as it kicks off a hunt for a new global headquarters in London.
The Magic Circle law firm is searching for a new base of between 300,000 sq ft and 400,000 sq ft, after hiring Cushman & Wakefield to review its office footprint earlier this year.
Such a move would represent a significant downsizing from its current offices at 10 Upper Bank Street in Canary Wharf, E14.
The 32-storey tower, which Clifford Chance prelet more than two decades ago, has 1m sq ft of offices. Some of its space at the Canary Wharf Group-owned building is already sublet, including 388,000 sq ft to Deutsche Bank.
Clifford Chance still holds more than 500,000 sq ft in the building, but only about 400,000 sq ft is in use, EG understands.
The law firm is said to be in the early stages of its office hunt and is taking presentations for new headquarters across various locations in London, including the South Bank, the City and Canary Wharf. A source close to the matter added that staying at its current base was still an option.
Should Clifford Chance move back to the Square Mile, it would follow its US contemporary Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which is finalising a move from 40 Bank Street, E14, to 22 Bishopsgate, EC2.
The firm will likely have exacting demands for its new base; lawyers in its current offices have access to extensive gym facilities, private dining rooms on the 30th floor, a 250-seat auditorium and a swimming pool.
In March, managing partner Michael Bates said it was important to “think seriously about the ‘where’ and ‘how’ of the future of our London space in the longer term”.
“We have learned a lot over the course of the pandemic about the importance of the workplace experience to our culture, our colleagues and our clients,” Bates said.
The news comes after a flurry of leasing activity among London’s law firms, with Slaughter and May, Baker McKenzie and Linklaters among those to have signed new leases recently.
Slaughter and May is retaining its current space at One Bunhill Row, EC1, Baker McKenzie and Linklaters are moving to new premises at 280 Bishopsgate, EC2, and 20 Ropemaker Street, EC2, respectively.
See also: Occupier interview: Lessons from Slaughter and May’s pandemic office search
Other firms including White & Case, Addleshaw Goddard and Dentons are understood to be continuing their search for new office space in the capital.
Clifford Chance employs more than 3,300 lawyers in 23 countries. Its London employees will be asked to split their time evenly between home and the office later this month, as the firm adopts a UK-wide agile working policy when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Clifford Chance, Cushman & Wakefield and Canary Wharf Group declined to comment.
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