Britain’s professional services industry received one of its strongest confidence signals in years on Tuesday after EY confirmed it has renewed the lease on its London headquarters beside Tower Bridge until 2040, ending months of uncertainty over the future of one of the capital’s largest corporate campuses.
The Big Four firm will remain at its More London Riverside complex, a 440,000-square-foot headquarters that has housed the company since 2003 and is home to more than 6,000 staff, including senior partners, global audit teams, technology advisers and transaction specialists. The WP Times reports this, citing EY statements and commercial property sources involved in the lease renewal.
The decision secures EY’s presence on the South Bank for another 14 years, in what commercial property analysts describe as a nine-figure commitment when rent, service charges, fit-outs and infrastructure upgrades are taken into account over the full term. EY said the move “demonstrates confidence in London as a global business centre” at a time when many multinational firms are shrinking their office estates or shifting jobs abroad.
A building that anchors Britain’s advisory industry
The More London campus — spread across several glass-fronted buildings overlooking the Thames — is not just another office. It is one of the largest professional-services headquarters in Europe, designed to host global client teams, secure audit operations and large-scale financial advisory work.
EY uses the site as:
- its UK headquarters
- its London regional hub
- and a key base for European and global leadership teams
Clients regularly hosted at the complex include FTSE-100 companies, international banks, private equity firms and governments.
An EY spokesperson said:
“Remaining at More London until 2040 reflects our long-term commitment to London, to our people and to the clients we serve from this location. London remains a world-leading centre for professional services, capital markets and innovation.”
Why EY had been considering leaving
Like many Big Four firms, EY spent the past two years reassessing its real-estate footprint as hybrid working and cost pressures reshaped the economics of large corporate offices. Commercial property data from CBRE and Savills show central London office vacancy rates remain near their highest levels in more than a decade, with firms across finance, law and consulting handing back millions of square feet since 2020.
Several rivals have cut back:
- HSBC is moving thousands of staff from Canary Wharf to a smaller City site
- PwC has reduced space in London while expanding in regional hubs
- KPMG has reviewed multiple central London leases
EY was widely understood to be exploring options that included downsizing, relocating parts of its workforce, or even exiting More London altogether once its existing lease expired. Property market sources said the firm was weighing the £30–40 per square foot annual cost of prime South Bank space against cheaper alternatives in outer London and regional cities.
Why EY chose to stay
Despite those pressures, EY concluded that no alternative location could replicate what More London provides: proximity to the City, Canary Wharf, major transport hubs, international clients and the UK’s largest pool of financial and professional talent.
The site sits minutes from:
- London Bridge Station
- the City of London
- and major financial institutions
That makes it easier for EY to bring together audit teams, M&A advisers, tax specialists and technology consultantson complex, time-sensitive projects. A senior real-estate adviser involved in the deal said:
“This is not just a lease extension. This is EY saying that London remains central to where the highest-value work gets done. That matters for the entire City ecosystem.”
What it means for London’s office market
EY’s commitment is being seen as a stabilising force in a market still recovering from post-pandemic shocks. The More London campus alone accounts for enough office space to employ thousands of people, and its departure would have created one of the largest single vacancies in the capital. By renewing until 2040, EY provides:
- long-term certainty for landlords
- protection for local jobs
- and confidence for investors in prime London office stock
Commercial property analysts say deals of this length are now rare, making EY’s decision especially significant.
A message beyond property
Beyond real estate, the move carries political and economic weight. London has faced growing competition from Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Dublin since Brexit, with some financial and professional services jobs relocating to the EU.
By locking in a flagship London headquarters for another decade and a half, EY is signalling that the UK capital remains essential to global business, regulation, deal-making and advisory work. For clients, it also means continuity: the same central hub where some of Britain’s most important audits, restructurings and corporate transactions are managed will remain in place for the long term.
While London remains its anchor, EY continues to expand across regional cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Belfast, where it benefits from lower costs and growing talent pools. The More London site is expected to undergo upgrades over the coming years, with more flexible working areas, digital collaboration suites and client-facing spaces replacing traditional desk layouts.
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