After only five years in Paddington, retailer plans fringe London consolidation
Marks & Spencer is considering consolidating all of its UK offices into a new 500,000 sq ft London headquarters.
The retailer is reviewing its occupational requirements, which could see it quit its Paddington head office and several regional offices, triggering a hunt for a new HQ hub.
The launch of the 500,000 sq ft requirement would see the FTSE-100 company consolidate its offices from Stockley Park, Heathrow, where it has 100,000 sq ft, and Salford Quays, where it has 45,000 sq ft, and its Paddington HQ into a single location deeper into west London or out of town.
Despite only moving to its 320,000 sq ft offices at Paddington Basin, W2, five years ago, M&S has run out of space. It occupies 240,000 sq ft at the Richard Rogers-designed Waterside building and 80,000 sq ft in neighbouring office block The Point.
One agent close to the retailer said: “M&S is desperate for space, and the board is considering all options.”
Sources added that M&S could also enhance its presence at Paddington by keeping its current buildings and consolidating the regional offices by taking a prelet of one of the proposed schemes in the area.
It has already considered taking space in the 260,000 sq ft Carmine office building, which is scheduled for delivery next year. The building is the first phase of European Land & Property’s £1.8m sq ft Merchant Square scheme.
The retailer is also understood to be eyeing Morley Fund Management’s and Development Securities’ 260,000 sq ft One Kingdom Street at the adjacent PaddingtonCentral, which has 180,000 sq ft of vacant space.
M&S also owns a 250,000 sq ft warehouse in White City, sandwiched between BBC Television Centre and the landholdings of Australian developer Westfield, which is in the early stages of drawing up plans for a 500,000 sq ft mixed-use extension to its White City shopping mall.
However, sources claimed that a full-scale relocation may prove too costly for the retailer, which made a £965m profit in the year ended 31 March 2007.
As a short-term solution, M&S is eyeing a further 18,000 sq ft on the seventh floor of The Point, space that has been vacated by telecoms company Cable & Wireless.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “Like any big organisation, we constantly look at our space against our requirements moving forward.”
Jones Lang LaSalle is advising M&S.
