The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word HEADQUARTERS
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
E
A
D
Q
U
A
R
T
E
R
S
More clues leading to the result HEADQUARTERS
- Boss given four bits of news in central office
- Queen in harder seat moving base
- Twickenham to some, top news, maybe?
- The rear squad ordered to base
- Boss searches for main office
- Base with square thread form
- Base local idiots drinking two pints
- Unusually harder quest capturing a camp
- Measure of liquid found in dive’s nerve centre?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "central office" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case central office = headquarters.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HEADQUARTERS mean?
HEADQUARTERS noun- The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued; the military unit consisting of a commander and his support staff.
- The center of an organization's operations or administration.
- A place of concentrated activity or influence.