The key points
- The giant Unilever remains in London
- Amazon also chooses London
- BA and BP say goodbye to their headquarters
Along Eden Street, street of Kingston Upon Thames, suburb on the southwestern outskirts of London, just south of Wimbledon, a large construction site stands out. A large residential complex is about to be built. But it is nothing compared to the future coming soon: the multinational Unilever, the Dutch giant of consumer goods, will build its future headquarters in Eden Street: a pharaonic project worth 230 million euros. The ice cream Algida, the sauce Marmite, disgusting gastronomic institution in disgusting) and the Dove soap bars will remain in London, moving into a huge building that it will reunite.
The giant Unilever remains in London
In 2024 Unilever will move a few kilometers from its current headquarters, merging its operations: it will go to Surrey House Island, a steel and glass complex with two buildings connected by a walkway, a car park designed for electric vehicles, and a residential building of 22 floors next to the recently restored Hogsmill River. They have been proposed 156 new homes; and 35% will be destined for “social housing”. The large real estate project will bring about 2,000 employees from five Unilever sites around London and Surrey to the campus: it is a move that goes against the tide in the real estate market, and belies the idea that London is becoming impoverished. The Anglo-Dutch multinational, which produces from Cif detergents to Mentadent toothpaste, seemed to be bent on saying goodbye to London. In the wake of Brexit, the large conglomerate had initially planned a possible farewell to London to move to Rotterdam, where the other leg of the group is. With a 180 degree reversal, the company decided to stay in London. The new phantasmagoric headquarters relaunches the role of the “royal village” of Kingston, born in the 16th century to serve Hampton Court, the palace of Enrico VIII, the king of the Anglican schism, is becoming a hub for large corporations. The same location was also chosen by Saipem: the English branch of the Italian engineering group has the convenience of being a few kilometers from the airport of Heathrow. The Unilever project, presented by Cube Real Estate, must face obstacles: the Eden Campus as the entire office complex plus apartments has been renamed, must obtain the green light from the Council. In the meantime, a first round of offers, to buy the future site and develop the project, arrived on the table of the real estate company.
Loading…
Amazon also chooses London
If finance, between Brexit and Covid, has desertified the City e Canary Wharf, waiting to understand if and when bankers will return to work in the office, other industries are choosing London as a base. In the center, in the heart of Shoreditch, the neighborhood of start-ups and hipsters, has landed Amazon, the global shopping giant. The hi-tech multinational has chosen the Thames as its headquarters for the UK it will occupy all 15 floors of Principal Place, London’s largest real estate development in recent years: a gigantic building of 600 thousand square feet (55 thousand square meters) which will be combined with existing offices in the adjacent area of Farringdon, also West London. In total, between the two buildings, Amazon will employ 5 thousand people in the capital. Initially, the king of e-commerce had planned to occupy only two thirds of the new construction, but in 2017 he decided to take over the entire building.
BA and BP say goodbye to their headquarters
For a Unilever that stays, and an Amazon that expands, there is a British Airways leaving. The British flag carrier, the country’s historic company and one of the most famous carriers in the world, has decided to abandon its prestigious headquarters in Heathrow, a complex of several buildings surrounded by ponds. About 2 thousand employees are based on the huge complex of the British Airways at Waterside. The airline industry was overwhelmed by the pandemic crisis and the company suffered a loss of 6 billion. Ba’s decision is part of the new path of companies that are reducing their space and leaving their historic headquarters. Already in full pandemic, the colossus BP he had announced his farewell to his headquarters. The British oil company, emblem of British industry, has been putting on the market its glorious headquarters in London, a year ago. St James’s, in the heart of the capital, next to the power and the crown: the market price is 230 million pounds. Doubts about the availability of buyers are strong: Covid is an epochal earthquake for the real estate market. The Post Covid world is upsetting habits and consequently also the world of work: between Smart Working and new lifestyles, fewer offices and more homes are needed. Remote working and the simultaneous affirmation of the Home Economy are redesigning the entire brick landscape.