Telefónica to create digital hub in the UK

Spanish communications giant Telefónica, the parent company of O2, is to undergo a major restructure, which will see it create a new digital hub in the UK.

The new business unit, Telefónica Digital, will be headquartered in London and spearheaded by Matthew Key, currently head of Telefónica Europe. There will also be regional offices in Madrid, São Paulo and Silicon Valley.

The London hub will initially consist of 2,500 staff and will ensure Telefónica capitalises on opportunities created by the mobile device revolution, including entertainment, e-advertising, e-health, financial services, cloud and M2M (machine-to-machine).

The company will also look at both consumer and corporate opportunities. A spokesman said that, while the business is based in the UK to be "close to the investment community, it also shows the importance of the UK to the business".

The new unit will initially be based at the company's UK headquarters in Slough, before eventually relocating to central London.

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