London attracts world’s most anticipated HQs

Apple HQ

Plans to perfectly match the British staple of Battersea Power Station with Apple’s iconic tech “religion” will see to fruition in 2021. The iconic company is planning to create an extraordinary HQ inside the Battersea Power Station to relocate its 1,400 staff from eight sites around the capital. The new Apple campus, as they call it will allow the company to occupy six floors of office space in this brick “cathedral of power”.

The powerplant is currently under restoration after 33 years of stoically looking over the river Thames. This is a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history.” Apple said.

Apple has underlined that the decision to move to Battersea has historical, cultural, and financial reasons since Battersea is set to become the most talked about redevelopment in Europe. Inside the former boiler house around a huge central atrium, Apple hopes to create a breathtaking HQ to match the impressive Battersea scenery with a “garden square in the sky”, a 2,000-seater auditorium, and cinemas in a scheme designed by London architects Wilkinson Eyre.

It’s worth noting that the Apple office deal is one of the biggest single office deals signed in London outside the City and Docklands in the past 20 years. Leasing 500,000 sq ft in total, Apple, the most valuable company globally, sees great potential in Battersea.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said:

“I’m delighted Apple is moving into Battersea Power Station, helping to generate new jobs and economic prosperity for London. “It is a further sign London is open to the world’s biggest brands and the leading city for trade and investment.”

If you are looking to invest in Battersea, call our dedicated team today on +44 203 888 5555 to arrange a private consultation.

Google HQ

Set to be a “landscraper” with a rooftop garden, the Google Headquarters in London will be the first Google building outside of the US to be 100% owned and designed by the tech giant.

The final design has been created by the Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studios and will feature an 11-story building that will provide some 80,819 square meters of space and stretch across 330 meters of ground.

Cafes and meeting rooms, a three-lane, 25-meter swimming pool, massage rooms, a “multi-use games area” to play basketball and football, and a 210-seat auditorium for product announcements and talks will be a few of the amenities the potential 7.000 Google employees will enjoy. The building, an impressive “landscraper” with a roof covered in a 300-meter-long garden will be destined for different times of the day as a pause area with amazing flowers, a cafe, a trim trail for runners will be also included.

Designer Thomas Heatherwick mentioned that to he was inspired by the infrastructure surrounding the Google HQ in King’s Cross such as the railway stations, the roads, and the canals.”We have treated this new building for Google like a piece of infrastructure too, made from a family of interchangeable elements which ensure that the building and its workspace will stay flexible for years to come.” highlighted Heatherwick.

The Mayor of London, who visited the site last Thursday said:

“Google’s expansion at Kings Cross is great news for London and further cement the capital’s reputation as one of the world’s leading technology hubs. It is another clear sign that London is Open and remains entrepreneurial, international, and full of creativity and possibility.”

Ruth Porat, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Alphabet and Google, said:“We’re pleased to welcome the Mayor of London to the site of our future campus in London. The UK is a great home for Google as we continue to create high-skilled jobs, build fantastic new products, and provide digital skills training across the country. We’re proud of our investment here and work hard to ensure Google can act as a growth engine for businesses and individuals to thrive.”

Bloomberg HQ

Bloomberg’s new European headquarters is located on one of the UK’s most significant archaeological sites, home to the ancient Temple of Mithras and at the heart of what was Roman London’s commercial center. Bloomberg HQ will bring Bloomberg’s 4,000 London-based employees under one roof for the first time.

The 1.1 million square feet of sustainable office space features three new public spaces, a retail arcade, and the Mithraeum cultural hub. The extremely deep-plan, inward-looking office environment is set to favor collaboration and teamwork while forging new frontiers in sustainability that they hope will serve as a model for other companies, Michael Bloomberg suggested.

The London Mithraeum Bloomberg Space will be free and open to the public to enter and explore the Temple of Mithras on the site of its discovery. Featuring the reconstructed temple, a selection of exquisite Roman artifacts and contemporary art that’s in a dialogue with the Mithraic mysteries, the HQ will be one of its kind.

“From day one, we talked with Mike Bloomberg about creating an elegant stone building that responds to its historic setting yet is clearly of its own time. We wanted the building to have integrity and continuity of expression both inside and out, creating an inspiring, innovative, dynamic and collaborative workplace for Bloomberg that embodies the core values of the company. Above all, we had a shared belief with Bloomberg that we should provide the highest standards of sustainability and wellbeing for its occupants, as well as create major new public spaces at ground level, making a significant contribution to the daily life of the City of London and its inhabitants.” Lord Foster, Founder, and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners said.

“We were very conscious of being guests in London,” says Bloomberg. “We wanted something perfectly modern and eminently British that respected London’s traditions.”

Merck (MSD) HQ

Merck (MSD) has put the UK at the center of medical research, as the health giant has chosen London as the site of its new European headquarters. Merck’s current headquarters in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire will relocate to London along with the rest of Merck’s European clinical operations. Set to open in 2020, the new £1.3bn headquarters will be home to 150 new researchers and 800 additional staff, creating hundreds of new jobs in a world-class research facility.

A life sciences sector deal with the UK government puts Merck (MSD) in the spotlight as one of the many companies who is currently boosting the UK economy. The turnover of life sciences in the UK is estimated to be £64bn, making it one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors by employing 233,000 people.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “We are an open, flexible economy, built on trade and engagement with the world. We have a competitive business environment with a deserved reputation for being a dependable and confident place to do business, thanks to our high standards, respected institutions and a reliable rule of law.”

McKinsey HQ

2018 will be an exciting time for McKinsey, since the multinational consulting giant will be moving into a 10,000 sq ft building in Holborn, London. The new McKinsey HQ is under redevelopment and will be on the site of a former Royal Mail sorting office.

The company can even add another 130,000 sq ft to their premises by expanding at the Post Building. McKinsey is another example of how businesses are shifting away from traditional “prime” districts such as the West End and City of London to relocate in other areas.

Deutsche Bank HQ

Deutsche Bank has signed a 25-year commitment for a new London headquarters 469,000 sq ft in Moorgate. The HQ will greatly benefit from the undergoing Crossrail construction in the area.

The premises, ideally located at 21 Moorfields, currently developed by Land Securities will also be above the western entrance of Liverpool Street Crossrail station. By 2023 around 5,000 employees will relocate in the HQ. Colette O’Shea, managing director for London at Land Securities, said:

“We are looking forward to continuing our partnership approach and working with Deutsche Bank to meet its design requirements and business needs as we deliver its London headquarters.”

TMF HQ

Dutch firm TMF is planning to move its headquarters from Amsterdam to London. The company provides business services such as tax, administrative, legal, human resources support and payroll processing to companies that want to expand into new areas. Netflix, Toshiba, and Volvo are among their 15,000 clients.

“Brexit has not been a barrier to the company choosing London, in fact, the UK’s exit from the EU could actually present an opportunity to TMF Group, given that business complexity and companies moving across borders are key drivers of its business growth.” the firm said.

The new TMF HQ comes at a time when TMF is set to float on London Stock Exchange Market. The future of the Dutch consultancy giant is looking bright since they are likely to see an increase in revenue based on the fact that their services are rather necessary than discretionary.

If you are planning to relocate to London call our dedicated team today on +44 203 888 5555 to learn more about our bespoke corporate relocation services.