The Bank of England has revealed plans to move staff out of London with the creation of a new Northern Hub in Leeds.
This announcement coincides with the decision to close the Banks existing cash distribution centre in Leeds by February 2023. The existing cash distribution centre on King Street prints cash and provides a specialist services where damaged banknotes are assessed and redeemed. These operations will be moved to an existing site in Debden, Essex.
The announcement about the new Leeds hub comes ahead of a review into the bank’s “geographical footprint”, with chiefs believing a greater emphasis should be placed on the institution’s 12 sites outside the capital.
There could also be major changes to the way staff work, with remote working and more flexible structures implemented going forward.
The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said:
‘’ Our mission at the Bank is to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability and to deliver that for the whole country. I made a commitment at my pre-appointment hearing before the Treasury select committee in March last year to look at how we can expand our staff presence across the UK beyond our existing agency network.’’
The Bank has had operations in Leeds since 1827 and said it was also planning to expand its presence using the agency network in other parts of the country.
The Bank of England move follows similar decisions by other national companies to relocate to Leeds, with Channel 4 relocating its national headquarters to Leeds city centre in 2019.
The government has also announced a new National Infrastructure Bank for Leeds in this year’s Budget, as well as the Department for Transport revealed hundreds of jobs could move to the city as part of plans for a new Northern Hub.
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