John Lewis to pack up Victoria HQ and downsize to Pimlico office

Retail giant, John Lewis, is planning to half its London Headquarters by relocating to Pimlico after thousands of staff opt to work from home.

The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, is uprooting its offices from Victoria to the former Metropolitan Police’s former offices in Pimlico, according to The Times.

The new location, at One Drummond Gate, spans 108,000 sq ft in comparison to its current 220,000 sq ft office space in Victoria. It has been reported that Tuckerman struck the deal for the new headquarters.

Lucy Brown, Director of Central Operations at John Lewis Partnership, told the Evening Standard: "This relocation reflects our flexible working policy which enables our partners to combine working from home, with time in the office and our other sites.

"Alongside remote working, our partners see huge merit in being able to sit down with colleagues to collaborate, innovate, and generally get to know one another. Our new office reflects this way of working and we look forward to making it our new home."

The move, expected to take place next summer, comes as John Lewis’s chairman Dame Sharon Lewis struggles to bring the retailer out of the black and back to "sustainable" profit. Earlier this year, Lewis pushed plans to cut costs by £600 million, after warning of the dire impact of inflation.

According to sources, John Lewis was not moving offices as part of efforts to cut costs. Instead, the move is being made to allow for more flexible working among staff.