Bank halts plans to move team to new headquarters

Jun 11 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

BANKING giant HSBC is putting on hold plans to move its commercial banking team to a new Liverpool headquarters.

The bank’s retail arm is still to vacate its prominent city centre retail premises, on the corner of Dale Street and Castle Street, to move to a new high street superbranch in nearby Lord Street later this year, but will no longer proceed with plans to re-house commercial banking staff.

It has acquired a property for several million pounds close to the new Liverpool One development.

HSBC had instructed property agents at CB Richard Ellis to identify 10,000 sq ft of quality office space within the city’s central business district.

The move would have seen its Liverpool and Wirral corporate teams combined under one roof.

However, a source has told the Daily Post that, in the current economic climate, the bank has now decided to put the move on hold.

Chris Hennessey, of CBRE, confirmed that HSBC had withdrawn the instruction.

“They have decided to keep the corporate teams at their present locations for the time being,” he said. “That is obviously a disappointment for us.”

No one at HSBC was available for comment.

Several of HSBC’s rivals have invested in new head- quarters for their city corp- orate teams in recent months.

Lloyds TSB has taken new space at Mercury Court, Royal Bank of Scotland/Natwest has moved to the Plaza, Bank of Ireland and Barclays are now in 20 Chapel Street, and Halifax Bank of Scotland is to relocate to St Paul’s Square. HSBC’s corporate bankers will remain at Castle Street/Dale Street despite the 17,000 sq ft building being put up for sale by owner Prudential.

The five-storey premises are being marketed by agents at Mason Owen with a price tag of more than £3m.

The bank has been resident there for several years, as both HSBC and the Midland, and in 2004 it opened a new corporate banking centre in the building which targeted businesses with a £25m- plus turnover.

BILL GLEESON: PAGE 10

tonymcdonough