Currys to quit west London HQ for WeWork’s Waterloo

Currys is quitting its west London HQ in favour of a deal with WeWork. The high street retailer’s 1,400 staff will have access to more than 50 WeWork buildings across the country under the deal, and Currys has taken a permanent space for 400 staff in a WeWork building next to London Waterloo station. It also plans to refurbish some of its shops to provide office space, to support its regional hubs. Chief executive Alex Baldock said: “We are not just paying lip service to hybrid working as we come out of the pandemic. We have listened to our colleagues, who have been outstanding through Covid’s many challenges, and have implemented the changes they wanted to see. “Our workspace of the future embraces what genuine hybrid working means – not just where you work, but how you work. We want to bring our people together again, but in a way that works for them. We are really excited to unlock the potential of truly hybrid working and believe that being innovative today will prepare us for how we adapt to new ways of working in the future.” The retailer is pushing ahead with the move despite being tied to the lease on its offices in Acton, west London. Samit Chopra, president and COO, international at WeWork, says: “As more and more companies welcome people back to the office, many are embracing hybrid work schedules that empower people with flexibility to provide new opportunities for teams to collaborate in-person. “We continue to see growing demand from forward-thinking companies like Currys, and we are delighted to bring their new hybrid working model to life for their teams.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Photo © Currys