Google has announced that it has purchased the Central Saint Giles offices in London for a billion dollars (£ 871 million). The tech giant called this purchase “a demonstration of confidence in returning to office work”. Let’s find out all the details together.
Google buys the offices of Central Saint Giles
The US tech firm currently leases space in the colorful complex designed by the architect Renzo Piano, located in the center of the capital, near Oxford Street. The building – with its distinctive red, green, orange and yellow facade – encompasses 38,000 square meters of office space, as well as more than 100 residential apartments. It is also home to restaurants and cafes on the ground floor.
Upon purchase, Google will have room for 10,000 employees in the UK. This is a significant increase from the 6,400 employees it currently has in the country, 700 of whom have joined the company in the last year.
Google’s new headquarters in London – a huge horizontal building known as “The Landscraper” – is under construction next to the railway lines that enter and leave the station King’s Cross. The glass building will span a total of 330 meters.
Major structural work should be finished before the end of the year. Once completed it will be high 11 floors, with a 25 meter swimming pool, an indoor basketball court and massage rooms, plus a roof garden.
Despite the increase in home work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Google reaffirmed its commitment to the project insummer of 2020. The tech giant has also promised one multimillion-dollar restructuring of its Central Saint Giles offices to create a post-pandemic workplace that has “parity” with its King’s Cross base.
The desks will be more spaced and the redeveloped building will include additional meeting rooms and covered outdoor work areas.
Post-COVID, Google will operate a model of hybrid workplace, with staff spending on average three days a week in the office. Staff may also request to work entirely remotely, albeit this it will not be possible for all roles.