Last week, we marked the beginning of our on-site works at the Unilever Campus with a ground breaking ceremony.
This is the first phase of a wider mixed-use development scheme situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames. Our works include the construction and CAT A fit-out of two office blocks providing 362,000 sqft of commercial accommodation, along with a multi-storey car park.
Building A is a nine-storey building with basement. Building A will have a strong architectural identity with the form of the building continuing the curved profile of Eden Street.
Additionally Building B is a eleven-storey building with basement. Building B is a second complementary office building that will front Brook Street, set back on the top floor providing further amenity space.
The two offices are also fully integrated and designed for long term flexibility. At ground level, the joint entrance off Brook Street creates a welcoming approach whilst defining the main reception area. This will also reinforce the new public realm being created nearby. A connecting bridge at sixth floor level will create a seamless transition internally to the proposed social and communal spaces located on the sixth floor of Building A.
When completed, the buildings will be the new headquarters of the British-Dutch multi-national consumer goods company Unilever. Bringing together employees from four other sites.
McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to celebrate the first official milestone at our Unilever project. We bring with us a wealth of previous commercial experience in London, and look forward to undertaking the piling works in the coming weeks.
Michael Kieran
Construction Director at McLaughlin & Harvey
Kingston Council is committed to boosting economic growth and supporting local employment by attracting major employers like Unilever. This has become ever-more important in light of the challenging national economic climate. This is a fantastic scheme for our borough, it will bring huge opportunities for our economy and our residents with more than 2,000 jobs coming to the town centre. It’s great to see it continue to progress.
Cllr Andreas Kirsch
Leader of Kingston Council
It is really exciting to see over two years’ hard work come to fruition today with the ground breaking. Ever since we first approached Unilever about this opportunity, we have been working to produce a plan that delivers for Kingston; I think that is what we have here in the new Unilever Campus. There is still a long way to go to get the campus built and operational, however, we have the right team in place and will work hard to bring the new Unilever HQ to Kingston as soon as possible.
Jonathan Lawes
Director at Cube Real Estate
We have learnt in the past few years that there’s much more to an office than simply desks. A workplace has the power to shape a company’s culture, to attract and retain future fit talent, and to be an active part of the community. Our aspiration is to make the Campus a magnet where our people, suppliers and partners all want to come for this sense of community and collaboration as well as for the proximity to the town centre and all it has to offer. Breaking ground today with people and organisations who are a core part of the Kingston community is an exciting milestone, and takes us one step closer to creating a Campus of which Unilever employees and residents of the borough can be truly proud.
Richard Sharp
Head of Unilever UK
Since planning for the campus was approved by Kingston Planning Committee in March 2021, Cube Real Estate has been working with Kingston Council to further improve the plans, for the benefit of the wider area. Along with previous commitments to bring 2,000 jobs to Kingston Town Centre, new landscaping and electric ready car parking, the new plans will go further.
