:Cyberspace Cardz

FTSE-100 Companies are moving their offices out of Central London in order to reduce their expenses. Statoil and Rio Tinto have already moved out of Central London. A new name added to the list is AstraZeneca, which has decided to move to Paddington from its Mayfair office (click for offices to let London).

The new office is being renovated currently. All the employees will be shifted to the new office once it is complete. The company hopes to move in by 2010.

According to AstraZeneca, the company intends to expand soon and thus needs to reduce its expenses. Since the rate in Central London is high, AstraZeneca decided to move out. In Mayfair, the rent was £40 a sq ft. This is however quite low when compared to the average Mayfair rent, which is £80 a sq ft even after rent going down over the last two years. The company chose to move to Paddington as they will be close to both London and the airport.

Reports suggest that even J Sainsbury will be shifting its office to North London from its existing office rental space in Holborn, Central London. The new office is of about 300,000 sq ft and is currently being developed by Argent, a property development company.

Savills Commercial recently conducted a study, which suggests that rents are soaring which is forcing the companies to shift out. It has now become the most important factor while choosing an office though two years back it was the third important factor.

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