Baker McKenzie in Talks to Lease Former RBS Office for London HQ

Baker McKenzie is in talks to lease a new London headquarters at the former offices of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s top executives.

The law firm is close to agreeing to a deal to rent the top six floors of 280 Bishopsgate, people with knowledge of the negotiations said. The firm will occupy about 150,000 square feet (14,000 square meters) of the building, which is being redeveloped by a venture led by CBRE Global Investors, the people said. RBS sold the property last year as a cost-cutting measure.

A spokeswoman for Baker McKenzie declined to comment on specific negotiations but said the firm continued to work on its London premises strategy. A spokeswoman for CBRE Global Investors declined to comment.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus is sending Europe’s commercial real estate markets into a deep freeze. Still, some deals that have taken months to negotiate are continuing, particularly where companies are forced to find new premises ahead of leases expiring.

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Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net

Marion Dakers, James Hertling

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