A man enters the Lloyd's of London building in the City of London financial district of London, London, April 16, 2019. REUTERS Hannah McKay
LONDON, January 18, Reuters -- Lloyd's of London SOLYD.UL is considering whether to stay in its flagship City of London headquarters and may make a decision this year, the commercial insurance market said on Tuesday.
The tower, designed by British architect Richard Rogers, took eight years to build and was completed in 1986.
Companies are reevaluating their office space after the COVID-19 pandemic showed that working from home is viable.
The pandemic has also speeded up moves towards automation, with Lloyd's, which insures complex risks from oil rigs to footballers' legs shifting away from doing business on its underwriting floor.
As we adapt to new structures and flexible ways of working, we are continuing to think about the future requirements for the spaces and services our marketplace needs, a spokesman said by email.
Like many other organisations, we are considering a wide range of options around our workspace strategy and future leasing arrangements for Lloyd s and we are hoping to share our plans during 2022. In 2013 SS bought the building for 260 million pounds $353.91 million.
The lease is due to expire in 2031 but there is a break clause in 2026.
The news was first reported by real estate publication React.
Lloyd's said on Monday that chief operations officer Jennifer Rigby would leave this week, with chief financial officer Burkhard Keese taking over responsibility for technology and operations.