Flexible working company Argyll is embarking on a major refurbishment programme across London, as it looks to give its office portfolio a facelift.
The boutique flex space operator plans to revamp 275,000 sq ft of its Argyll Club-branded offices at a cost of about £27m, in a move designed to capitalise on the rebounding popularity of the sector post-pandemic.
The project encompasses eight Argyll-owned buildings, including 33 St James’s Square, SW1; 1 Cornhill, EC3; and Mayfair townhouses 84 Brook Street and 53 Davies Street, W1. The company has 38 London locations, 11 of which it owns.
It comes just over a year after Argyll’s owners bought it out of administration following a refinancing of its debt. They also reinstated former chief executive John Drover, who had previously been in charge of the company from 2000 to 2013.
Much of Argyll’s office space is in historic properties, which typically provide extra challenges for developers looking to modernise them. Drover said the project was about “celebrating the unique history of our properties while adding state-of-the-art technology and modern furnishings”.
That tech will include video booths equipped with green screens, “expert lighting” and cameras designed to detect who is speaking for virtual meetings. Argyll also said it would replace old lighting with more energy-efficient alternatives and upgrade heating and cooling systems to reduce the buildings’ carbon emissions.
The project is being led by architect Damion Burrows, who has presented Channel 4’s Grand Designs House of the Year in the past. Burrows is managing director of DMBA architects.
Argyll will also choose a so-called signature scent for each space, designed by British perfumer Azzi Glasser. The company did not disclose details of what it would smell like, but said its tenants would enjoy the aroma of “success and calm” as they enter their newly refurbished workplaces.
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