BACKGROUND

Since 2004, Cityspace has proudly partnered with Raymond James Wealth Management Ltd, supporting their remarkable growth since establishing their UK presence in 2001. This growth has necessitated multiple office relocations and expansions. The latest project, following the acquisition of Charles Stanley, saw the company grow from 240 to 800 employees. This expansion led to the headquarters extending over three additional floors and adapting existing meeting rooms to accommodate the larger team.

• Location: London, EC2Y

• Company Size: 800 Staff

• Project Size: 54,000 Sqft

• Sector: Financial

• Duration: 36 weeks

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES 

In 2019, Cityspace was commissioned by Raymond James to relocate two City offices into Ropemaker, a striking 22,500-square-foot space designed for 240 staff. Following their acquisition of Charles Stanley, the team expanded to over 800 employees, necessitating a remodel of the 13th floor and an expansion into the 18th, 19th, and 20th floors. 

Raymond James negotiated a complete renovation of the space, stripping the old offices back to a shell and replacing all the infrastructure with both CAT A and B fit-outs. The task was to modernise the new space and maximise usability for a hybrid working environment. The 13th-floor meeting room suite was enlarged to accommodate increased meeting room volumes. We added six additional meeting rooms, a catering facility, and a dedicated media room for press communication. The new meeting room suite provides flexibility for formal meetings, seminars, and town halls, all booked via a state-of-the-art room booking system.

CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS

The project faced significant logistical challenges that required meticulous planning to ensure timely completion and the exit of Charles Stanley from 55 Bishopsgate. Compliance with fire and safety regulations mandated phased work. Insurers did not allow isolating all three adjacent floors at once, so work commenced on the 18th and 20th floors first, with the 19th floor remaining unchanged with live sprinklers.

At the project’s start, the only goods lift servicing the 11th-20th floors went out of service, complicating material distribution to the upper floors. This lift remained broken for 50% of phase one. Despite this setback, we completed the first phase on time by manually transporting materials from the 11th to the 20th floor using the fire staircase and the passenger lift during weekends.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The client faced significant lease exposure and had to vacate Charles Stanley’s offices at 55 Bishopsgate by March 2024. To meet this obligation, the Cityspace team worked to an accelerated program of works, facilitating the client’s relocation deadline. Balancing construction logistics and design challenges, we ensured the offices met the needs of the people occupying them. The merger, amidst a restructuring process, required reaching agreements between two diverse cultures, ensuring everyone’s needs were heard and factored into the design. We had to navigate differing interpretations of hybrid working to implement them in the new location. This process was handled delicately to ensure no one from Raymond James or Charles Stanley felt unheard, creating a neutral ground for successfully blending corporate cultures.

PROJECT OUTCOMES 

The client was thrilled with their new space and the seamless integration of the two teams. The environment was meticulously designed to suit both companies, fostering a smooth cultural blend. Raymond James now enjoys a state-of-the-art workspace that meets their immediate needs and positions them for future growth and success.