A total of 200 jobs could be at risk after Serco announced plans to close its Richmond office.

The outsourcing giant told staff on Monday, February 23, it proposed to shut down its base in Oriel House, the Quadrant, for "commercial reasons" and a source said it could be closed by the end of September.

Serco acquired the site, along with two other offices in Portsmouth and Tonbridge, when it bought The Listening Company for £42.1m in 2011.

Despite the site being earmarked for closure, Diana Robertson, head of communications at Serco, said the number of redundancies could not be confirmed as it was "too early in the planning process".

She said: "Proposals are at a very early stage and we have only just started detailed discussions with the seven clients and about 200 employees affected by this decision.

"We will be working closely with them over the coming weeks to find the most appropriate solution for the future.

"Our intention is to find alternative providers to whom the service can transfer with minimum disruption for the service and for our employees.

"This transfer could be either to another external service provider or for the client to take the service back in-house."

The Tonbridge office will also close this year and the Portsmouth site will shut in 2016.

Business Secretary Vince Cable, MP for Twickenham, described the news of potentially imminent redundancies at the firm as "a matter of concern".

He said: "This is obviously a matter of concern when closure and redundancy will affect so many employees.

"I hope that those affected will get the maximum possible from the local job centres and that the rapid response service they offer will be deployed immediately to offer help to those who find themselves out of work as a result of Serco's decision."

Serco announced shares had fallen by a third in November, wiping £585m from its market value, which chief executive Rupert Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, said was the company's "darkest hour".

William Pentony, regional director for Serco, said: "We are sorry to be announcing the closure of the site in Richmond.

"The decision is in no way a reflection of the quality of service delivered by our colleagues and we will be offering them every support over the coming months."

Councillor Pamela Fleming added the closure of a major employers office would also impact businesses in Richmond such as cafes and sandwich shops.