REPORT: Rothschild To Depart Chicago, Move Operations To NYC

Rothschild & Co. will reportedly shutter its downtown Chicago office and take operations to New York, the second time in two weeks the French financial giant has moved to close and consolidate U.S. offices.

The firm has been scaling back its North American footprint amid a drop in deal volume, Bloomberg first reported, citing sources with knowledge of the situation. It will close its office at 77 W. Wacker Drive while transferring an unknown number of staffers to New York.

The timing and number of the relocations and when the office will be closed could not be confirmed by Bloomberg. 

Rothschild has worked out of a suite of offices within the 944K SF 77 W. Wacker building since opening its Chicago outpost in 2016, seeking to tap into what was then the world’s biggest market for mergers and acquisitions, The Financial Times reported. Eric Hirschfield, a former Goldman Sachs managing director, was brought on to lead operations.

Hirschfield was also tapped to lead the firm’s Miami office in early 2023, when Rothschild announced it would open a 5,000 SF office at 830 Brickell, joining Microsoft, Citadel, Thoma Bravo and Kirkland & Ellis at the 630K SF tower.

The Miami office closed earlier this month, coinciding with Hirschfield’s retirement. Rothschild now operates three offices in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, Bloomberg reported.

Several financial services companies have left Chicago in recent years, including alternative investment manager Citadel, which upped stakes for Miami when it relocated there two years ago. CEO Ken Griffin had frequently complained about Chicago’s crime rate, political leanings and high taxes. Guggenheim Partners moved many of its employees from Chicago to Miami last year.