Shell moves to Canary Wharf while it redevelops London HQ
More than 2,000 Royal Dutch Shell staff will spend the next decade working in Canary Wharf after the oil firm today announced plans to redevelop its Shell Centre headquarters in Waterloo.
Shell is negotiating a 10-year lease for 200,000 sq ft of office space in 40 Bank Street, near One Canada Square, to house its workers while it invests in new central London offices.
It used real estate firm CB Richard Ellis to search for replacement accommodation under the codename Project Thunderbird.
Shell announced a $1 billion (£650 million) blitz of savings in the fourth quarter of last year after profitability dropped during the recession.
The company has spent years considering plans for its 50-year endowment of nearly seven acres of prime London real estate, including a 24-storey Thames-side tower block opposite the Palace of Westminster.
A spokesman for Shell said the move away from Waterloo was temporary: "Shell will remain a major employer in the area with established connections to the local community."
