Groupama relocates London staff

Groupama Insurances is relocating its London head office from Minories to new premises in nearby America Square.

The insurer said the move is part of a deliberate strategy to increase operational efficiencies by scaling down its presence in the City while increasing the use of its regional centres and maximising flexible working options.

Following a period of consultation, around 25 jobs in specialist teams including claims, legal and compliance, marketing, risk management, internal audit and accounts have relocated to Groupama centres in Croydon and Portsmouth. In addition, some roles are now operating from home and are working more flexibly on a mobile basis.

Paul Picknett, corporate services director at Groupama, said: “With the lease due to expire on our Minories offices, we had the opportunity to look at how we could work smarter and save costs on hugely expensive floor space in the City.

"It became clear that with our well-established regional centres and the increasing use of mobile and video technology, we simply no longer need to have such a sizeable presence in London.”

Picknett added: “America Square will give us the presence we need in London and certainly has the right gravitas for a business of our size and ambitions. But our focus is on securing the long term profitability of our business in fiercely competitive market conditions. The decision to move around 25 jobs outside of London will really help towards preserving our competitiveness in a way that is relatively easy to achieve and that will have no effect on the efficiency of our processes.”