BCG to move Canadian headquarters to CIBC Square

Global management advisory firm The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is moving its Canadian headquarters to Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines' forthcoming CIBC Square development in downtown Toronto. The deal for the new office was finalized in July, and the firm expects a move-in date of summer 2021.

BCG, a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, aims to move its Canadian corporate headquarters to the forthcoming CIBC Square development, a 270,000 m2 complex consisting of two 49-towers located on Bay St., south of Front St. The south Financial District development broke ground in June, and will be home to BCG’s headquarters in four years’ time. Developers Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines commenced construction on 81 Bay St. after reaching a lease agreement with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX: CM) to anchor the project. CIBC will be consolidating over 15,000 of its staff in the two buildings. BCG will have a more modest footprint, with its 300 Toronto employees expected to relocate to the glitzy new office block in the summer of 2021.

“We are confident that this new development will serve our sizable firm presence in Toronto and support our growing office of the future," said Cliff Grevler, BCG Senior Partner and Managing Partner for the Toronto, Montreal and Calgary offices. "The opportunity to design our workspace in a setting that bridges the gap between the Financial District and the South Core, with amenities like convenient transit, sweeping water views and sizable outdoor space, is truly an opportunity we couldn’t pass up."

Hines Senior Managing Director Tom D’Arcy commented, “Hines is thrilled to now have BCG as an anchor tenant in Toronto at CIBC Square. With BCG leases at five other properties over the past decade, we have had a long-standing relationship with BCG and are looking forward to working with them to create best-in-class office premises that will support their global business and brand.”

Canada’s consulting market has recently been heating up in recent years. Firms have shown intent to aggressively expand their market share, with Canadian engineering and professional services firm SNC-Lavalin’s notably making a huge move in the $3.6 billion acquisition of British engineering consultancy Atkins, earlier in 2017.

Meanwhile, in the US, BCG was recently contracted by Whole Foods following their take-over by Amazon, which was finalized this summer. The consultancy will work with Whole Foods to help the grocery retailer save $300 million in baseline costs, as the store bids to bring in new customers and shed its reputation of costing one’s “Whole Pacheque.”