A major tech firm that has been based in Swindon for more than 50 years has put its offices up for sale.

Intel has launched a short-term sale and leaseback disposal of its 187,000-square-foot European headquarters on Pipers Way.

The American semiconductor chip giant has hired Colliers to sell the 12.87acre site which was built in the early 1980s and currently employs around 1,000 staff members.

Colliers describes the site as suitable for several development opportunities that could add value to the three interlinked buildings, such as residential and alternative uses such as data centres and industrial areas.

No price has been guided but market sources told CoStar News that they expect it to fetch up to £9 million.

An Intel spokesperson told the Adver: “We are shifting our global real estate strategy to focus on fewer, more populated locations and eliminate underutilized space.

“This approach will foster greater in-person collaboration at our largest sites while also delivering cost savings for the company.

“We remain focused on meeting local market needs and supporting the growth of our customers and partners.”

Intel Corporation (UK) will take an 18-month leaseback across the whole site with a tenant-only 'rolling break' option from January 31, 2025, on three months' notice.

The leaseback rent is £1,905,660 per year. 

Intel employees were first told of the company’s plans to leave the site in July 2023.

At the time, the business said it would continue to be committed to Swindon by having a presence in the area, including lab and office space, though the search for a suitable space for a new HQ is still ongoing.

Chris Lewis, head of UK office investment at Colliers, said in a statement: “This is a unique opportunity to acquire a key site with significant value-add development potential in a town that is being transformed with numerous regeneration schemes in line with local authority objectives.

"The Intel Pipers Way site is well known in the locality and being only half a mile from the Swindon old town district will make it attractive to a range of investors who will be looking for a long-term play, be that residential, senior living, logistics or data centre development.”

It comes after Intel announced in August that it is axing 15 per cent of its global workforce — which is approximately 15,000 jobs.

The move is in a bid to turn its business around to compete with more successful rivals like Nvidia and AMD.

In the last few days two firms have expressed interest in buying the firm, Apollo and Qualcomm.

In a memo to staff which was also published online, Intel Corp chief executive Pat Gelsinger said the US company plans to save 10 billion dollars in 2025.

He said: “Simply put, we must align our cost structure with our new operating model and fundamentally change the way we operate.

“Our revenues have not grown as expected — and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI.

“Our costs are too high, our margins are too low.”

The job cuts come on the heels of a disappointing quarter and forecast for the iconic chip maker, which was originally founded in 1968 at the start of the PC revolution.

Mr Gelsinger wrote that Intel will announce an “enhanced retirement offering” for eligible employees and offer an application program for voluntary departures.

He added: “These decisions have challenged me to my core, and this is the hardest thing I’ve done in my career.

The bulk of the layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

This comes as Intel appoints Colliers to sell the 12-acre Swindon site on Pipers Way that has been the business’ European headquarters for 54 years and currently employs around 1,000 people.

It is not known whether any of the Swindon staff will be affected by the mass redundancies.

Intel’s main HQ is in Santa Clara, California, where it is also suspending its stock dividend as part of a broader plan to cut costs.

The semiconductor chip manufacturer reported a loss for its second quarter along with a small revenue decline, and it forecast third-quarter revenues below Wall Street’s expectations.

When this cost-cutting plan was first announced, stock plunged 19 per cent in after-hours trading, indicating that Intel could lose roughly 24 billion dollars (£18.8 billion) of its market value.

The company posted a loss of 1.6 billion dollars (£1.25 billion) or 38 cents per share, in the April-to-June period, which is down from a profit of 1.5 billion dollars (£1.17 billion), or 35 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings excluding special items were 2 cents per share.

Revenue slid by one per cent to 12.8 billion dollars (£10.06 billion).