News International to sell Wapping site

News International has announced it is to sell its vast Wapping site in east London. The 15-acre site is set to put on sale after the company decided “not to proceed with remodelling’ the site due to current market conditions.

In a statement News International said: “The decision to sell the 15-acre site follows a review of News International’s London property portfolio.

“The majority of News International’s Wapping-based editorial and commercial staff have now relocated into Thomas More Square, with the remainder to be relocated by the end of 2011.”

The Wapping site has been home to Murdoch’s newspaper titles since they relocated during the height of the print union strikes in the 1980s. It is the second time that News International has put the Wapping site on the market in the last three years. News International had previously stated a desire to refurbish the Wapping site to become a campus for the company’s UK businesses.

However most of the editorial staff of News International’s print titles, including the Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and the now closed News Of The World had relocated to the nearby Land Securities-owned Thomas Moore Square building.

The News International added: “Thomas More Square provides the company with excellent facilities and flexibility.”