Lloyd's of London considering HQ move

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London is considering whether to remain 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 reassessing their office space as the COVID-19 pandemic showed working from home was viable.

The pandemic has also speeded up moves towards automation, with Lloyd's, which insures complex risks from oil rigs to footballers' legs, increasingly shifting away from doing business on its underwriting floor.

"As we adapt to new structures and flexible ways of working, we are continuing to carefully think about the future requirements for the spaces and services our marketplace needs," a spokesperson said by email.

"Like many other organisations, we are considering a range of options around our workspace strategy and the future leasing arrangements for Lloyd’s. We are aiming to share our plans during 2022."

Chinese insurer Ping An bought the building for 260 million pounds ($353.91 million) in 2013.

The lease expires 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 on her responsibility for technology and operations.

($1 = 0.7346 pounds)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Ed Osmond)