Barclays sets sights on Pune with its largest office outside UK

The extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3 will inflict an economic loss of $234.4 billion, and result in stagnant GDP for 2020, British brokerage Barclays said in a note. It had earlier said the three-week lockdown would likely to have an economic cost of $120 billion. The brokerage pegged economic growth at zero for 2020 and 0.8 percent in FY21 from 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent earlier, respectively. (Image: Moneycontrol)

London-based investment bank and financial services firm Barclays’ India has struck and agreement to pick around 1.09 million square feet office space in Pune on lease, the company said in a statement.

The transaction could be the largest for commercial spaces of the year so far and is likely to be Barclays’s single largest office outside of its headquarters in London.

The campus in Commerzone IT Park in Kharadi, Pune, is likely to be developed over the next two years and is expect to accommodate around 8,800 employees. The centre could serve the financial firm’s operations across 40 countries.

Teams will begin moving into the new campus in phases starting September 2019.

Speaking about the plans for the campus, Barclays Group Chief Operating Officer, Paul Compton said, “We have ambitious plans to create a truly unique workplace, with the latest technology and a vibrant work environment. This will help us to accelerate collaboration and innovation across teams, and enhance our ability to deliver world-class services to customers, clients and colleagues across the globe.”

The current rental for the deal is priced at Rs 50 per sq ft a month. This takes the total payout to over Rs 660 crore.

The new facility will be home to the Barclays Global Service Centre and will provides end-to-end technology and operations solutions and services to Barclays' businesses globally.

Barclays currently employs more than 16,000 people across Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Noida.