City hopeful of securing deal for Channel 4 headquarters

A DELEGATION from Channel 4 has visited Cardiff to assess potential sites for a new headquarters.

Last month the broadcaster revealed Cardiff was on a UK-wide shortlist for locations for its new regional HQ. Cardiff is competing against Bristol, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and the West Midlands.

All seven will also be considered for one of the two creative hubs.

Belfast, Brighton, NewcastleGateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Stoke-on-Trent are shortlisted only for a smaller creative hub.

The winning locations are expected to be revealed in October.

Cardiff Council is overseeing the bid for Cardiff. And here we identify a number of potential locations.

Hodge House Law firm Hugh James will soon vacate its current offices at Hodge House in the city centre.

The expanding legal practice will move to a new HQ at the 2 Central Square office scheme at the Central Square development project from Rightacres Property in September.

The relocation will bring 70,000 sq ft of office space to the market.

No 3 Capital Quarter The 79,000 sq ft office scheme is the latest at the Capital Quarter from developer JR Smart. Having already signed up consumer champion Which? the grade A office scheme will be ready for occupancy next month.

No 4 Capital Quarter And next to No 3 Capital Quarter, the 97,000 sq ft No 4 Capital Quarter building is scheduled for completion in March 2019.

Stadium Plaza The scheme, next the Principality Stadium, is home to a number of leisure and entertainment tenants including cinema operator Vue.

It has enough office space to accommodate either the HQ or a regional hub. Situated here the channel would be close to the new BBC Wales HQ and Cardiff University’s school of journalism, which will soon to move into the 2 Central Square office scheme building with Hugh James at Central Square.

2 Kingsway This 40,000 sq ft city centre office scheme overlooks Cardiff Castle. Once the head office of the Bank of Wales it also served as the headquarters of the Welsh Development Agency.

While it has signed up a number of tenants including Savills and Welsh Power, there is still plenty of available office space.

Central Quay The scheme at the site of the existing Brains Brewery has not yet broken ground, so a stop gap venue could be needed.

However, the scheme’s first office building, the 220,000 sq ft and 12 storey Ledger building, is expected to be completed by summer 2020.

The Interchange scheme Another project not scheduled for completion until 2020, is the Interchange scheme at Central Square, opposition the new HQ for BBC Cymru Wales. As well a new bus station and private residential apartments, the Interchange scheme at Central Square will also offer 80,000 sq ft on new grade A office sapce.

Programme commissioning editors overseeing significant budget and with responsibility for some of Channel 4’s biggest shows, will be based across the three new creative hubs – alongside a variety of other creative and business functions.

The largest of the creative hubs will be known as Channel 4’s National HQ – and will regularly host executive and board meetings for the broadcaster – alongside Horseferry Road which serves as Channel 4’s London HQ.

The 4 All the UK plan was announced in March 2018 – a strategy to ensure the channel serves the whole of the UK and the biggest change to the structure of the organisation in its 35 year history.

At the heart of the strategy is a major new commitment from the channel to increase its nations and regions content spend from its current quota of 35% to a new voluntary target of 50% by 2023.

This will result in a cumulative boost of more than £250m in Channel 4’s nations and regions commissioning spend.

The three hubs and HQ would be home to around 300 staff. However, the channel, which current employs around 800, said it couldn’t yet give a breakdown on jobs in each of the new operations.

It is anticipated that the majority would be located at the new HQ and largest creative hub.