Patrizia relocates London HQ to create ‘office of the future’
Patrizia is relocating its London headquarters to Covent Garden to turn the historic hClub building into a showcase of the German group’s “New Work” initiative for the smart office of the future.
The group is planning to leave its current Knightsbridge offices and move to the period building at 24 Endell Street which, subject to planning permission being granted, will undergo extensive refurbishiment and modernisation in line with Patrizia’s sustainability targets.
Once the work is completed, 200 Patrizia employees will move into the building in 2024.
The group’s ambition is to lead the market for the office of the future. It wants to lead by example and create a state-of-the-art, creative office space, described as a “modern, agile and creative work environment powered by advanced smart building technologies”.
“In 2018, well before Covid, we predicted that in future offices won’t be just places for routine administration and standardized tasks,” said Wolfgang Egger, founder & CEO, Patrizia. “We wanted to lead the way in shaping the office of the future and started our New Work initiative for all Patrizia workspaces. Our ambition was to create a work environment for even more creativity, collaboration, productivity and more fun at work.”
The group’s New Work initiative is about being creative and flexible but also sustainable, community-focused and using cutting-edge technology. The four pillars of the programme are Work Free, Work Flexible, Work Smart and Work Well.
“New Work at Patrizia isn’t just about office space, it’s about our culture, in essence our organisational DNA,” said Simon Woolf, chief human resources officer. “We recently designed and refurbished our new offices in Frankfurt and Luxembourg, despite the pandemic and our colleagues there are already thriving in their new workspaces. I’ve no doubt that our new premises in London will be an inspiring place which allows our people to flourish.”
Location matters: Covent Garden was chosen because it has long been known as a vibrant hub for the creative industries and the hClub building, a former members’ club recently acquired by WE Holding, is a historic landmark.
The building is also easily reached by public transport, with two three tube stations at a five-minute walking distance, and will benefit from the launch of the new Elizabeth Line/Crossrail link, scheduled for competition in 2022, which will provide high-speed connections to Canary Wharf in the East, and to Paddington Station in the West.
