Forms part of redevelopment plans
The London Studios, home of Saturday Night Takeaway and The Last Leg, is to close as part of ITV’s plans to redevelop its South Bank headquarters.
The studio, which ITV acquired for £56m in 2013 and also houses This Time Next Year and Have I Got News For You, is expected to close from spring 2018.
It forms part of a wider logistical move by the broadcaster to move all staff based in the capital to the central London site.
As a result of the closure, ITV is to put a number of staff into a period of consultation, while it will also seek new homes for its shows at other studios.
In a note to staff, chief executive Adam Crozier said the redevelopment of the site would include a smaller amount of studio space for a number of its daytime shows including Loose Women and Good Morning Britain.
“We’ve given very careful consideration to what our plans mean for The London Studios, which would require significant investment to replicate within our proposed South Bank redevelopment,” he said.
“Looking ahead, we believe that this investment would not be core to the strategic priorities of the ITV Studios business and so we’re proposing to close TLS and use studio capacity in the external market to meet our future business needs.”
ITV has been searching for a new London base for “some time”, and has opted to remain in its “historic” location near Waterloo instead of moving to Chiswick Park, where Discovery is based, or Stratford’s Olympic Park.
It is also understood that the broadcaster looked at the newly-refurbished Battersea Power Station as a potential home.
“This search confirmed our strong belief is that our historic location on the South Bank is the best place in London for ITV,” Crozier said.
Staff upheaval
However, the development plans will have a major effect on all staff over the next few years.
In early 2018, staff will move out of the Southbank building to two interim sites nearby.
There will be temporary additional office space added to its Gray’s Inn Road base, which currently houses ITV News staff, as well as short-term offices opened at Waterhouse Square in Holborn.
“We will be making sure that these new bases, which will be our home for the next few years, will be refreshed and refurbished in a modern and exciting way so that everyone has a great new working environment,” the former FA chairman said.
Crozier admitted that the move will be unsettling, but added: “Planning a terrific new London home for everyone, that we can all be proud of, is definitely the right thing for the long term future of ITV and the people who work here.”
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