// Currys is set to exit its west London headquarters after signing a deal with flexible office group WeWork
// Currys head office staff will soon have access to more than 50 WeWork buildings
Currys is set to close its west London head office after signing a deal with WeWork, which will allow its 1,400 staff to work from 50 locations across the country.
Currys has taken permanent space for 400 staff in a WeWork building next to London’s Waterloo station and also plans to convert unused space in some of its stores into offices.
The retailer said it took a consultative approach in designing this new policy, with an emphasis on what people want, and what their concerns are with returning to pre-pandemic working.
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With its workforce steering away from the “old normal” way of working, the retailer is looking to shift to a more creative, agile workplace strategy that provides greater flexibility.
The deal is one of the first times that a major company has permanently closed its headquarters and switched entirely to a flexible office provider.
The American company WeWork leases large amounts of office space to some of the largest, financially-sound companies, including Facebook and Merck.
Currys group 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.”
Samit Chopra, President & COO International, WeWork said: “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.”
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