• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 13, 2021

Earlier this year Dentsu confirmed it was considering the sale of its headquarters building in Tokyo as part of a broader streamlining effort. 

Now the holding company has entered into a preliminary sales agreement with an undisclosed buyer. If the sale is completed Dentsu would lease office space from the new owner in the building for its staff, only about 20% of whom are commuting to offices there due to the pandemic. Prior to the health crisis about 9,000 workers commuted to the office daily. 

Dentsu said it would make a profit of about $800 million if the sale goes through. 

The sale of the headquarters building is the latest move Dentsu has taken to trim its real estate portfolio. In the spring it sold two properties—one in Tokyo and the other in Kamakura City. At the time the firm said it would realize a gain of about $273 million on those sales.

Dentsu isn’t the only company trimming its real estate assets. Most of the big Adland holding companies have indicated over the past year that they are reviewing real estate footprints and reducing them given evolving work models driven by the pandemic. Many firms are considering hybrid models where workers commute to the office two or three days a week and work from home for the remainder of the work week.