Dentsu's headquarters in Tokyo could be sold for ¥300 billion (£2.1 billion/$2.89 billion/€2.37 billion ©Getty Images

Tokyo 2020 marketing agency Dentsu is reportedly looking to sell its headquarters in the Japanese capital for ¥300 billion (£2.1 billion/$2.89 billion/€2.37 billion).

According to Japanese news agency Kyodo News, Dentsu has lined up several candidates to buy the 48-storey building in Tokyo.

Should a deal go through, it would be one of the biggest property sales in Japan.

The Dentsu headquarters was built in 2002 and can house as many as 9,000 members of staff.

But due to the coronavirus pandemic, many employees are working from home in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.

Kyodo News quoted a statement from Dentsu saying "it has not made a decision yet" over a sale but was considering its options.

The advertising company is understood to be looking to downsize the headquarters and rent some of the office space from the new owner.

It was reported last month that Dentsu planned to cut 12.5 per cent of its 48,000-strong workforce, resulting in 6,000 job losses.

Japanese advertising company Dentsu is the marketing agency for Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images
Japanese advertising company Dentsu is the marketing agency for Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

The redundancies were announced as part of a £640 million ($855 million/€705 million) restructuring programme, which also includes brand consolidation.

Dentsu warned it would be reporting an annual loss for the second successive year after registering a loss in 2019 before the global health crisis.

Reduced working hours and temporary salary reductions are among the cost-cutting measures Dentsu has implemented in response to the pandemic.

Dentsu was appointed as the exclusive Olympic and Paralympic marketing agency in Japan a year after Tokyo was awarded the Games in 2013.

The company is currently facing conflict of interest allegations after it was revealed Dentsu paid more than $6 million (£4.6 million/€5.1 million) towards Tokyo 2020's successful campaign for the Games at the same time it was working for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It also reportedly actively lobbied members of the IOC to get their support for Tokyo 2020's bid during the period when it had a separate marketing contract with the organisation.

The agency has previously been forced to disassociate itself from allegations it was involved in corruption cases due to its close links with disgraced former International Association of Athletics Federations official Lamine Diack.