We wanted to have some offices in the centre of London. We looked around and could find nothing suitable and affordable for sale. Eventually, we came across a void under a block of flats in Providence Square by Tower Bridge. Berkely Homes had to put some commercial offices there as part of their planning permission. I’ve no idea why. So we bought them, they put up the steelwork and the glazing and we fitted them out.
The offices were small but had a view of the Thames and opened up onto a courtyard which was a water park. Feeding ducks on the patio area was a pleasure for the people who worked there.
The area under the water park was a garage shared between the flat residents and ourselves. We had 2 parking spaces! However, driving down to park there was a nightmare even before the congestion charge. We operated from there for a few years but it never was much of a commercial success.
We called it London City although it was nowhere near the city – but at least it had a an E1 post code although the address was actually Southwark.
We did try and use it for publicity and held a party there. We also used it for some briefings.
After the company went down I was left trying to sell it which in 2008 with the financial crash was a tough sell. It hung around on the market. I visited it several times to make sure that it was still in one piece. I went down one day and was amazed to find the doors which led out onto the courtyard were unlocked. There was a massive radiator missing. Why someone would seal off a steel pressed radiator and then steal it beats me – the risk reward ratio is simply wrong.
Eventually, after several false starts, some company with money came along in April 2010 and just bought it. I made a slight profit.