Rio Tinto is looking for tenants to occupy nearly half of its prime 116,000 sq ft West End headquarters, as it pursues plans to move roles from its London base to other global locations.
Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed by the mining giant to source tenants for around 50,000 sq ft at 6 St James’s Square, SW1, which is owned by Zara founder Amancio Ortega’s real estate business, Pontegadea Group.
Ortega’s firm bought the building in 2016 from Rio Tinto for £262m in a sale-and-leaseback deal, following a substantial redevelopment by Exemplar between 2010 and 2014.
It was the Spanish billionaire’s second trophy office building purchase in London’s West End, after Pontegadea paid more than £400m for Devonshire House, W1, in December 2013.
A company spokesperson said: “Since February 2018 and following consultation with our staff, we have been in the process of moving some roles from London to other locations. This is the result of changes to our group operating model. London remains Rio Tinto’s global headquarters and the location of our chairman, chief executive, chief financial officer and two product groups.
“These changes mean that we no longer require all our current office space in St James’s Square.”
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