Citi to Transform EMEA Headquarters in Major London Refurbishment

Citi has announced plans to refurbish its London headquarters, Citi Tower, in Canary Wharf.

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01/26/2022 - 12:30 AM EST

Citi Tower project demonstrates confidence in London as a global financial centre
One of the largest workplace refurbishments in Europe
Citi purchased office tower in Canary Wharf in 2019

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citi today announced its intent to transform its London headquarters, home to its UK and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) operations. The refurbishment of the iconic Citi Tower in Canary Wharf will create a stunning workplace for the future, incorporating the latest technology and the highest standards of environmental design. With flexible work and collaboration spaces, alongside well-being zones for employees, the transformation of Citi Tower represents Citi’s enduring commitment to its people, to London, and to delivering excellence for its clients around the world.

Conceptual image Citi Tower Interior (Graphic: Business Wire)

“Our aim is to create an environmentally sustainable, innovative and exciting place to work, incorporating modern design, state-of-the-art technology, and best practices in employee and client spaces,” said David Livingstone, Citi’s EMEA CEO. “Citi Tower is a significant investment in our people and our growing business in the UK and the broader EMEA region.”

Citi purchased the 42-story office tower at 25 Canada Square in 2019 in a demonstration of its commitment to London as its EMEA headquarters and a vital global hub for the bank.

Citi Tower will be refurbished to reflect the changing nature of work, with even greater emphasis on shared spaces where colleagues can come together. “We’re a business of energy and ideas, and we thrive on bringing people together,” said Livingstone. “Our rejuvenated EMEA headquarters will be designed to maximise collaborative work-spaces, supported by technology, to enable us to work flexibly and with maximum agility.”

The renovation is expected to be completed in 2025.

John Glen MP, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, said: “We are delivering on our roadmap for ensuring the UK remains a world leader in financial services by making it more open, more competitive, more technologically advanced, and more sustainable. This welcome investment from Citi in its London HQ is another vote of confidence in the City and its role as one of the preeminent international finance hubs.”

The environmental impact of the new Citi Tower has been central to the planning and design. The decision to refurbish the building and bring it up to modern efficiency and environmental standards instead of demolishing the existing structure is expected to save the release of an estimated 100,000 tonnes of embodied carbon, the equivalent of running almost 22,000 family cars for a year.* Updating infrastructure and implementing efficiency measures will also minimise electricity consumption and reduce water consumption by 20%.

Citi Tower is among the largest workplace refurbishment projects in Europe and the bank will be applying for the project to become the UK’s tallest office refurbishment project to gain high-level LEED, WELL and BREEAM certifications.**

Yasmin Al Ani Spence, Director at architectural firm WilkinsonEyre, lead designer of the project, said: “Citi challenged us to make a 20-year-old tower compatible with its vision for the future of work. Our architectural interventions will hopefully inspire both staff and visitors to Citi. Well-being has been put at the heart of the project by introducing innovative collaboration spaces, enhanced connection, state-of-the-art amenities and impactful access to greenery, promoting biophilia. The internal layouts are anchored around a number of vertical villages, which break down the traditional floorplates and encourage inter-connection between levels, creating a stimulating and exciting place to work.”

The refurbishment will also create more public space in Canary Wharf. The new ground floor will enable visitors to traverse between Canada Square and Jubilee Park, two of the significant green spaces within the estate.

Shobi Khan, CEO of Canary Wharf Group (CWG) said: “I am delighted Citi is making a long-term commitment to Canary Wharf as a dynamic and sustainable urban environment in which to work, live and play. With our commitment to sustainability and our track record as the UK’s largest developer of sustainable space, it is exciting to see Citi’s initiative to transformation its site.”

* According to EPAannual carbon emissions for average family car are 4.6 tonnes per year.

** LEED, WELL and BREEAM are leading, global third-party infrastructure and building ratings and assessment methods that certify assets according to the highest standards in multiple criteria. These include, but are not limited to, energy and water efficiency, impact on ecosystems, use of resources and health.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

About Citi Tower:

Citi Tower will be a cutting-edge, flexible, carbon dioxide-efficient workplace that is fit for the future. The Citi Tower project is expected to be the UK tallest office refurbishment project to gain LEED platinum, WELL platinum and BREEAM excellent certifications.

When completed, Citi Tower is expected to be the most carbon-efficient building in Citi’s real estate portfolio and home to 9,000 colleagues in London, as well as the bank’s EMEA headquarters.

Energy efficiency and generation:

Citi Tower will be updating infrastructure and implementing efficiency measures to minimise electricity consumption.
Installation of solar panels on the roof is forecasted to generate 52,577 kWh per annum, enough carbon dioxide-free electricity to power 18 average UK homes¹for one year.
Citi Tower has a future-proofed design to meet proposed 2030 efficiency standards.

Modernisation and refurbishment:

The decision to refurbish the building and bring it to modern efficiency and environmental standards instead of demolishing the existing structure is expected to save the release of an estimated 100,000 tonnes of embodied carbon.²
100,000 tonnes of embodied carbon would be equivalent to:
- 1,653,521 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
- Running 21,748 family cars for a year (According to EPA³ annual carbon emissions for average family car are 4.6 tonnes per year).

Water efficiency:

Fixtures selected are expected to reduce water consumption by 20%⁴.
A greywater system will be implemented, where water will be collected from hand-wash basins and showers and reused in flushing toilets and urinals, reducing Citi’s impact on potable water. This recycling system will save an estimated 29.5 m³ per day of greywater, or 10,767.5 m³ per year, which is:
- enough water for 66 UK households per year⁵.
- enough water to fill 4.3 Olympic pools⁶.

Waste and material use:

At a minimum, 95% of project waste to be diverted away from landfill.
Refurbish and reuse materials on site to reduce waste as well as embodied carbon.
Responsible Sourcing - Materials and furniture with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are being prioritised, where possible.

Well-being:

Targeting Platinum certification in the WELL Building Standard. The standard focuses on 10 key areas (air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, community) and supports employee productivity and health.
Creation of winter garden & health gardens.

Local Community Support

The auditorium will be designed and positioned to be accessible to community organisations.
The refurbishment will create employment and apprenticeships in Docklands.

¹Average electricity UK home 2021 resource, data from OFGEM: https://usave.co.uk/energy/how-much-energy-does-the-average-uk-household-consume/#:~:text=in%20your%20area.-,How%20many%20kWh%20does%20the%20average%20home%20use%20in%20the,kWh%20of%20gas%2C%20per%20month.
² Source AECOM.
³ Resource: Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator | US EPA.
⁴ Against LEED baseline.
⁵ 10,767.5/164 = approx. 66 (https://www.onaverage.co.uk/consumption-averages/average-water-usage)
⁶ 10,767.5/2,500 = approx. 4,300; Olympic pool size: 2,500 cubic meters