Goldman CEO has high hopes for London HQ post-Brexit, much outside his control

[October 30, 2017]  LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein expects to fill up the firm's new European headquarters which is currently under construction in London, but said Britain's exit from the European Union leaves much outside the bank's control.

"In London. GS still investing in our big new Euro headquarters here. Expecting/hoping to fill it up, but so much outside our control.#Brexit," Blankfein tweeted on Monday.

The Wall Street bank is building a 1.1 million square foot office in London with initial occupancy slated for 2019 to house its 6,000 UK employees, but the firm needs to ensure it can still service its EU clients after Brexit and may have limited access to the EU's single market from Britain.

Earlier this month, Goldman said it had agreed to lease office space at a new building in Frankfurt, giving it space for up to 1,000 staff.

(Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing Rachel Armstrong)

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