RBS to double HQ staff count with four Edinburgh office closures

The 80 per cent state-owned bank said that the cost-cutting initiative will see 3000 staff moved out of the centre of the Capital to swell personnel numbers at Gogarburn to 6000.

The bailed-out bank said the move is intended to save around £18 million a year.

Locations for the chop are Dundas Street and Fettes Row, where an estimated 2000 employees are currently based, as well as the Younger building at Edinburgh Park and an annexe behind the old RBS headquarters building in St Andrew Square.

The Gemini building on the other side of St Andrew Square will also be closed as part of the plans that the lender said would not involve any job losses.

All premises except for the Gemini building are owned by RBS.

RBS said the flits will be phased in over a series of stages during the next 18 months and due to be completed by the start of 2017.

The announcement on staff being transferred to Gogarburn comes after RBS unveiled plans last month to turn the grand office built for Fred Goodwin when he was chief executive into a base for budding entrepreneurs. The former executive wing will be home to an Entrepreneurial Spark business accelerator hub for up to 80 people wanting to start their own business.

An RBS spokeswoman said: “Gogarburn is a fantastic resource that we must make the most of to bring our teams together and better enable our highly-skilled staff to learn from and share best practice with each other. In addition to the significant cost savings these moves will bring, working collectively will be key if we are to achieve our ambition to be the number one bank in the UK for customer service, trust and advocacy.

“We are also opening up Gogarburn to customers and non-customers alike; providing a home for entrepreneurs, creating a centre for technology innovation and providing local communities and charity partners with access to facilities that can help support their growth.”