News International is reported to be in talks to move its entire newspaper portfolio to a new London Bridge development in the shadow of the Shard.
The news group’s lease on its current home at Thomas More Square in Wapping is due for renewal next year and it is said to be looking at a range of alternatives.
One option would be to move the Sun, Times and Sunday Times to the Place development, nicknamed the “Baby Shard”, in London Bridge.
Property titles Estates Gazette and Property Week have both reported that News International has already kicked off negotiations to take the whole of the 428,000 square foot development once it is completed in 2015.
News International would not confirm the reports. A spokesman for the group said: “Our lease is due for renewal next year and as a responsible employer we will be exploring all options to ensure our accommodation continues to meet the needs of our staff and the business as it develops in the future.”
News International has been based in Wapping for 27 years since Rupert Murdoch moved his papers away from Fleet Street in 1986 – a decision that sparked a year of bitter industrial disputes between the media mogul and the print unions.
Murdoch sold the former print plant two years ago and moved from the buildings dubbed “Fortress Wapping” on Pennington Street to the group’s current site across the road.
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