Having been acquired by the Resolution Group in November 2009 and then merged with part of AXA’s life insurance business late last year, the company is now set to move into a new headquarters office called One New Change.
The site has been developed by Land Securities, and Friends Provident and will be one of the first occupiers of the site when its relocation into 48,000 sq ft of office space is completed by the middle of 2011.
Business leaders at the insurance firm have described the City of London office space at One New Change as a “relevant and fitting home” for what is now an “enlarged organisation” following last year’s merger.
“There is a real synergy between the flexible, contemporary office space at One New Change and our ambition for Friends Provident to be a progressive, industry-leading financial services company,” said David Hynam, executive director of operations at Friends Provident.
“We are excited about the move which will give us the space to bring our recently expanded business together under one roof, while still remaining right at the heart of the city.”
One New Change is in the Cheapside area of ‘the City’ and is described by its developers as “one of the largest consolidated retail spaces in central London”.
You can view profiles of flex space providers that have space in Cheapside here
Land Securities is aiming to have the entire development completed in time for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and expects close to 3,000 people to be employed in offices at the site by that time.
Editor’s notes: The tenant, following a rebranding to Friends Life was in occupation at One New Change by June 2011.
In December 2014, British insurance firm Aviva agreed terms for a £5.6 billion all-share takeover of Friends Life.
As of May 2023, it appeared that none of the associated entities continued to rent office space at One New Change.
In the same month, only 16,914 square feet of office space was available to rent at the scheme with a further 19,989 square feet coming available in Q1 2024.
It was announced that new basement facilities would be launched in 2023 including a VIP and a disabled drop-off spot as well as 370 cycle and 38 motorcycle parking spaces allocated to offices which would be accessed via dedicated lifts from Bread Street.