(qlmbusinessnews.com via theguardian.com – – Wed, 21st Nov 2018) London, Uk – –
Firm plans to move ‘vast majority’ of it’s 500 staff to its Soapworks site in Salford
TalkTalk is to move its headquarters out of London, relocating hundreds of staff to Manchester as the exodus of major media and telecoms companies from the capital continues.
TalkTalk, which opened a large offices at the Soapworks site in Salford last year to bring together its operations in the north-west, said it intends to relocate the “vast majority” of its estimated 500 London staff to its new headquarters next year.
The move will be a fillip for the Manchester area, which is already home to significant parts of the BBC and ITV’s operations, as it came a close second missing out to Leeds as the location of Channel 4’s second “national” headquarters last month.
TalkTalk said that the move would “simplify” the business, meaning it will make for significant cost savings. The company, which employs between 2,000 and 2,5000 staff across the UK, follows BT in identifying downgrading London as a major cost saving strategy. In May, BT said it would move out of its central London base at St Paul’s, where it has been headquartered since 1874 when the group was known as the General Post Office, as part of a wide-ranging restructuring to cut £1.5bn in costs.
“As we further simplify the business, and focus on fewer priorities, we no longer need to be split across two main sites,” said Tristia Harrison, chief executive of TalkTalk.
“Now is the right time to consolidate, making Salford the single main campus for the business. The vast majority of London roles will relocate to Salford in 2019. This will reduce operational complexity and allow us to become a more efficient, focused business, in turn supporting our long-term growth.”
The company said it would start hiring for new posts in Salford, partly through an expansion of its graduate and apprenticeship programme, which it will need to do as many London-based staff will not want to relocate.
TalkTalk also said its £1.5bn joint venture with Infracapital, part of M&G Prudential, to lay full fibre networks to 3m homes in mid-sized town and cities would not be progressing. Instead, it has launched a new subsidiary, FibreNation, to undertake the roll-out and said it is in talks with potential partners, including Infracapital, to find the “appropriate long-term capital structure” for the business.
By Mark Sweney
