Royal London looking to move from bulging Wilmslow base

ROYAL London, the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, is looking for alternative near its current site in the Cheshire town of Wilmslow.

The company is based at a campus site off Alderley Road to the north of Wilmslow and has 1,100 staff there.

One option the company is exploring is the development of a new office on land it owns to the east of the office, but it would require Cheshire East Council to remove planning restrictions “as a matter of urgency”.

Royal London head of procurement and facilities Neil Kilshaw said: “At our Wilmslow site we have recognised for some time that space is a real issue.
 
“With an ageing property we are restricted in both maintaining existing and creating new working environments, without undertaking a major refurbishment.

“We’ve already relocated our some of our people to Alderley House on the campus as we have run out of space in the main Royal London House office.  Taking into consideration our planned growth over the next few years, it’s clear we’re going to need more space soon.”

“One of the options open to Royal London would be to develop new purpose-built offices on the adjoining land that we own to the east of the current site.  However delivery of this option will require Cheshire East Council to remove planning restrictions on the land as a matter of urgency.

“As uncertainty remains around the leading location option, Royal London is also looking at other development sites near to Wilmslow.”

The company has appointed property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton to help find other potential sites.