Virgin Media O2 has taken 83,000 sq ft over seven floors at British Land’s newly refurbished 3 Sheldon Square office building at Paddington Central for its new HQ.
The 140,000 sq ft building is undergoing a full refurbishment and will be ready for occupation in February next year. The refurbishment will see the building become fully electric, with air source heat pumps fitted to reduce its occupational energy demand by more than 40%. British Land is targeting BREEAM Excellent certification and an EPC A rating.
An extensive upgrade to the public realm at Paddington Central, which British Land owns in a joint venture with GIC, is also underway to enhance the landscaping across the site.
Darren Richards, head of real estate at British Land, said: “As businesses re-evaluate their workspace requirements in the wake of the pandemic, demand is clearly moving towards high quality, sustainable space in central locations with excellent amenities. Virgin Media O2’s decision to consolidate its team at the newly refurbished 3 Sheldon Square reflects this trend, and underlines the appeal of Paddington Central and our London campuses to innovative businesses.”
David Walker, chief operating officer at British Land, added: “This is a fantastic example of our sustainability strategy in action, limiting embodied carbon through retaining the original building while delivering best in class space and improving energy efficiency. This fully refurbished scheme is well ahead of our 2030 target of a 25% improvement in whole building energy efficiency and lowers operational costs for our customers.”
Rodney Hogg, director of property, facilities, fleet and energy at Virgin Media O2, said: “By investing in a brand new, connected and state-of-the-art office space, we’re creating even better opportunities for our people to come together, work and collaborate. This purpose-built space, just a short train ride from our other major site in Reading, offers brilliant connectivity and impressive sustainability credentials helping us deliver for both our people and the planet.”
