Oil giant BP finds new home for London headquarters

LONDON (Reuters) - British energy giant BP will move its headquarters in central London to a new location in 2024 after agreeing to lease new grounds not far from Trafalgar Square, the company said on Friday.

BP sold its 1 St. James's Square headquarter in late 2020 for 250 million pounds as part of Chief Executive Bernard Looney's cost-cutting drive. It bought the building in 2002.

The company will relocate its main London office used by Looney and his senior leadership team to the nearby 20 Carlton House Terrace, which is currently under re-development.

The new office has a surface area of around 70,000 square feet compared with the more than 100,000 sq ft office in St James's Square.

BP has also begun moving its main trading operations in London's Canary Wharf financial district from 20 Canada Square to 25 North Colonnades, the company said.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

By Ron Bousso