Volkswagen Financial Services is exploring options to set up a 40,000-60,000 sq ft hub in Manchester, Leeds or Glasgow.
The company, which offers vehicle financing for brands including Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ducati, has instructed Deloitte to carry out a feasibility study for a new office for occupation in 2018.
Such a move would likely see the relocation of elements of the business from its current UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
The potential office expansion follows a troubled year for the company.
In March, Volkswagen Financial Services AG announced a €353m (£277.8m) writedown to cover a potential decline in the value of cars following the diesel emissions cheating scandal.
However, Volkswagen Financial Services as a whole expects to post “very good” results in 2016 of at least €1.7bn – the same as it achieved in 2014.
Its office search is one of several active northshoring requirements launched in recent months as legal and financial institutions look to benefit from cheaper rents and lower salaries in the North.
Neil Mort, director of CBRE’s North West office agency, estimated that around 250,000 sq ft of active northshoring requirements were currently looking at Greater Manchester and the North.
Last year saw a raft of high-profile companies taking new offices in the regions. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer agreed to take 80,000 sq ft at English Cities Fund’s One New Bailey in Salford, Greater Manchester. And HSBC announced plans last year to move its headquarters out of London’s Canary Wharf to Birmingham’s Arena Central development.
To send feedback, e-mail Louisa.Clarence-Smith@estatesgazette.com or tweet @LouisaClarence or @estatesgazette
