Major defence company Babcock is exploring the possibility of relocating approximately 2,000 staff to the House of Fraser building in Plymouth city centre following the department store’s announced closure.

The House of Fraser store, a prominent landmark formerly known as Dingles, is scheduled to shut its doors in March. Babcock, which currently employs more than 7,000 people at the Devonport Royal Dockyard, had previously announced in June that it was seeking a city centre location to improve collaboration and support defence delivery.

A spokesperson for Babcock confirmed that the building “is one of a number of sites it is considering.” The site previously narrowly avoided closure in 2018 following a rescue deal, but its upcoming departure has now been finalised.

Steve Hughes, chief executive of the Plymouth City Centre Company, described the closure as “sad news” for the staff involved but remained optimistic about the building’s future.

He said: “The city centre continues to improve with footfall on the rise and the number of vacant units falling. The planned level of investment in the city centre is huge… with work on The Civic Centre now progressing, plans for a Babcock office building for 2,000 employees and thousands of new homes.”

Babcock’s operations in Plymouth are extensive, involving the delivery of critical defence programmes such as complex submarine maintenance and the construction of armoured vehicles.

Image source: Wikipedia (Lewis Clarke / Plymouth : Dingle’s Department Store / CC BY-SA 2.0)