The government is to consolidate the civil service into 16 hubs across England totalling 7.4m sq ft.
Much of the space will be taken by HM Revenue & Customs, which is driving the programme and requires 13 new hubs as it is nearing the end of a 20-year sale and leaseback deal with Mapeley Estates. A further three hubs will be established without HMRC presence. JLL is handling the process.
The move forms part of the Government Property Unit’s strategy to reduce the government estate from 800 buildings to fewer than 200 by 2023 and shift power away from its Whitehall Campus, SW1. However, details obtained by Estates Gazette show the government is aiming to deliver the hubs from 2018-2021.
The new data shows how the hubs will be spread across the UK and how quickly they need to be in place.
| Strategic hub | Initial staff numbers | Tenure | New acquisition (sq ft) | Hub start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London – East | 23,156 | Leasehold | 1.5m | 01/04/2018 |
| London – South | 13,544 | Leasehold | 871,877 | 01/04/2018 |
| London – West | 1,861 | Leasehold | 118,403 | 01/04/2020 |
| Peterborough | 2,795 | Leasehold | 182,986 | 01/04/2018 |
| Portsmouth | 2,037 | Leasehold | 129,167 | 01/04/2020 |
| Newcastle | 2,237 | Leasehold | 139,931 | 01/04/2019 |
| Leeds | 7,850 | Leasehold | 505,904 | 01/04/2019 |
| Sheffield | 2,909 | Leasehold | 182,986 | 01/04/2019 |
| Nottingham | 6,534 | Leasehold | 419,793 | 01/04/2019 |
| Bristol | 5,108 | Leasehold | 333,681 | 01/04/2021 |
| Birmingham | 13,137 | Leasehold | 850,349 | 01/04/2021 |
| Manchester | 10,185 | Leasehold | 656,599 | 01/04/2018 |
| Preston/Blackpool | 8,034 | Freehold | 516,668 | 01/04/2018 |
| Liverpool | 7,807 | Freehold | 505,904 | 01/04/2018 |
| Carlisle | 4,115 | Freehold | 269,098 | 01/04/2018 |
| Exeter | 3,227 | Freehold | 204,514 | 01/04/2018 |
Strategic hubs are also due to launch in Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Wales between 2019 and 2023.
The multi-departmental hubs are designed to achieve economies of scale, enable easier cross-departmental collaboration and improve recruitment and retention.
The GPU is understood to be focusing on city centre locations, with a reduction in office space in Whitehall from 52 to 20 buildings by 2023.
The largest requirements for the new super-hubs remain in London, with a 1.5m sq ft hub earmarked for Stratford and 870,000 sq ft in Croydon, where HMRC is already in advanced talks to take the first office building at Stanhope and Schroder’s Ruskin Square.
However, Birmingham’s hub includes 850,000 sq ft of new space and Manchester’s initial requirement stands at 650,000 sq ft, with an option to extend to 950,000 sq ft.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We are bringing our people together into 13 regional centres across the UK. We are taking the next step in creating a tax authority fit for the future delivering better, more modern services to customers and making it harder for the dishonest minority to cheat the system.
“There are a number of potential options that we are currently considering for the location of all our new regional centres.
“We will only confirm a particular development after we have told our people, who we have been consulting with throughout this process.”
JLL to lead on government hubs >>
HMRC moves on Ruskin Square >>
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