Channel 4’s plan to move its national headquarters to Leeds is expected to cost the broadcaster at least £50 million.
According to The Guardian, Channel 4 is expecting to spend between £40-50 million over the next three years as it “seeks to rebalance its operation across the UK”, including moving 300 of its 800 staff out of its London headquarters.
The broadcaster is said to be in consultation with staff over relocating to the new HQ in Leeds as well as the planned creative hubs in Bristol and Glasgow. The paper reports that up to 90 per cent of the broadcaster’s staff have indicated they would prefer to take redundancy rather than move.
Channel 4’s former chief executive, David Abraham, had previously warned that up to 80 per cent of its workforce would leave if they were forced to move out of London.
“The 4 All the UK strategy is a transformational long-term investment in the future of Channel 4,” a spokesman told The Guardian. “It will enable Channel 4 to reach new stories, ideas and talent from across the UK that others are not able to, deliver new creative and commercial benefits for the organisation, and generate jobs and growth in the creative economy outside of London.”
