Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LBG) has told staff at its Barnwood site that they will need to relocate some 40 miles away to Bristol when their offices are sold off in a year's time.

In a statement from Accord, which is the trade union for LBG workers, it was confirmed that all staff will be relocated at Lloyds' newly refurbished Bristol Community office in Q4 2025.

The union said: "The transition, scheduled for Q4 2025, comes with support measures from Lloyds' Future Workplace Team and access to external travel consultants to assist affected staff."

It added: "Accord understands that relocating can be challenging, especially with increased travel times, costs, and potential impacts on those with caring responsibilities. We encourage members who may be impacted to discuss their concerns with their line manager to ensure they are documented."

Lloyds Banking Group subsequently confirmed the news to Punchline-Gloucester.com.

A statement said: "As part of our ongoing investment into our property portfolio, we are closing our Barnwood office. Colleagues currently working at this location will move to the Harbourside office in Bristol, which was recently refurbished to create a modern, collaborative and state-of-the-art workspace for our colleagues.

"Harbourside is served by excellent transport links, with a nearby railway station, buses and over 220 car parking spaces, giving our employees plenty of options when travelling to work."

They added that no role reductions as a result of this announcement, and said: "Once the move is complete, we will permanently close our Barnwood office in Gloucester, to be redeveloped and sold.

"We sought guidance from an external travel consultant to provide the most accurate information to our colleagues and ensure their commutes are as easy as possible."

In 1990, some 750 of the C&G's 2,400 staff moved into their landmark new offices at Barnwood which were built alongside the A417 at a cost of £30m. The adjacent roundabout became known as the C&G Roundabout and retains the name as a popular local reference.

After decades of steady growth, acquisitions and mergers, C&G converted to a bank in 1995 when it was then taken over by Lloyds TSB. Fourteen years later, in 2009, Lloyds Banking Group closed all 164 branches of the C&G as part of a corporate restructuring plan.

Several years after the signage changed at Barnwood, Lloyds Bank PLC finally took official ownership of the C&G Barnwood HQ in December 2019, at a net book transferral to the parent company for £3.5m.

No precisely figure on the number of staff are affected by LBG's relocation has been given, but approximate estimates have been set at as many as 400 jobs. However, as reported in April with the net loss of 45 jobs and the end of LBG's Risk Division at Barnwood, there has been a slow attrition on the payroll. Additionally, a source has indicated to Punchline that as many as 120 staff have left in recent months.

LBG's new Bristol Harbourside office, some 39 miles from Barnwood and just under an hour's journey via the M5 (outside peak hours) is located in the city centre and was recently completed as a project by award-winning architects HLN, in conjuction with Wates Construction. 

In a statement on the project, HLN said it takes pride in creating transformative spaces.

"The project was completed in 13 weeks, featuring a comprehensive Cat B fit-out with new amenities like a cafe and gym. The space reflects the vibrant city of Bristol through local graffiti artwork on lockers."

Wates Construction said of the finished results: "Harbourside encourages employees  to embrace office working, by giving them a productive atmosphere where their wellbeing is considered."

Lloyds Banking Group PLC's latest half-year financial period showed a robust financial performance, in line with expectations. Statutory profit after tax came to £2.4bn.

●Punchline-Gloucester.com says:: "This is a kick in the teeth for the people who work at Lloyds' HQ. For a company that makes billions in profit on the backs of their staff to now do this, it begs a question of how much money a corporation needs to make before it weighs against such decisions? For a company to offer no redundancy option and push staff to travel this distance outside the county, for the workers who often travel significant distances which will be even further away now the destination is set as Bristol, for those who have children or are also carers, balancing their private lives and their careers, it is simply a dreadful proposition. We wonder whether such decisions are a consequence of the trend towards working from home? Whatever the thinking, it's a decision that looks like corporate greed."