Schroder UK Real Estate Fund has announced that Arrival, the technology company focussing on electric vehicles, has increased its office letting at Kensington Village to approximately 80,000 sq ft.
Arrival had previously let 41,000 sq ft at Schroders’ West London office holding but has expanded its London HQ which will see Arrival occupy the whole of Beaumont House on a 15-year lease.
Arrival is taking a unique approach to the design, assembly, and distribution of vehicles, which brings down costs in order to accelerate the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles.
This includes in-house developed materials, components and software and the use of rapidly scalable and low CapEx Microfactories to build the vehicles. The company has worked with UPS, DHL and Royal Mail and recently obtained funding from Hyundai, Kia and BlackRock to help support its ambitious growth plans.
Arrival will use the increased space at Kensington Village for its UK headquarters and research and development (R&D) activities. Arrival’s workforce is made up of experts from across engineering, software, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
Located close to Kensington Olympia and West Kensington Underground Stations, Kensington Village is home to former Victorian warehouses which have been redeveloped into modern, high quality workspaces for innovative businesses.
As part of its expansion at Kensington Village, Arrival plans to invest into the building to provide a state-of-the art workplace and amenities for its staff. This will include new internal and common parts fitouts as well as an upgraded plant alongside a new rooftop terrace.
Arrival is a global business with offices across the USA, Germany, Netherlands, Israel, Russia and Luxembourg.
Jessica Berney, Fund Manager of Schroder UK Real Estate Fund, commented: “We are delighted to announce our expanded letting to Arrival. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is an integrated element of our investment approach so expanding our collaboration with a pioneer in sustainable development is central to SREF’s strategy. Since first moving to Kensington Village, Arrival has created a vibrant world class workspace that allows its innovative workforce to thrive, and we look forward to working with them to improve the building further in order to support its groundbreaking work.”
Sveta Ershova, Chief of Talent, R&D at Arrival, said: “We are excited to expand our London HQ to accommodate our rapidly growing team. At Arrival, culture is an integral part of the company and facilitates our ability to innovate. Ensuring that our employees have the best possible environment to work in to achieve their goals is crucial to the success of the business.”