Bringing fame and fortune to London
London has always been the city you come to in search of fame and fortune. In one of its most famous tales, a boy once arrived here with nothing but his cat and left as Lord Mayor. So when Diageo, one of the world’s biggest drinks companies, decided to consolidate its presence into a single Soho address, it was a win for them – but also a feat for the city.
Previously spread across four different locations in the outer reaches of London, Diageo’s move to 16 Great Marlborough Street brought 900 employees under one roof.
16 Great Marlborough Street
But perhaps more significantly, it brought one of Britain’s strongest businesses back to the heart of the capital, and into a space that truly feels like home.
What attracted Diageo back to central London wasn’t a glamorous new building or sweeping skyline views. It was a workplace designed with intent – thoughtfully built around the needs of their people, and a place where they could truly practise their purpose to “celebrate life, every day, everywhere”. Built to keep the best talent at Diageo, and consequently, in London itself.
A turnkey project, the ten-storey Soho building was reworked from an existing 1990s structure into a world-class HQ that genuinely supports productivity, performance and the wellbeing of the people that work in it every day. A dedicated brand experience and immersive customer collaboration centre. 330 cycle spaces with full end-of-trip facilities. Smart-working technology throughout. A living green roof. And the first carbon zero-in-operation building in the Lazari portfolio, directly aligned with Diageo’s own net zero commitments.
With four sites consolidated into one and the combined footprint nearly halved, the workforce stayed whole. For a global business that could have chosen any of the 180 countries it operates in, the decision to bring its people together in central London strengthens the city’s position as a world-class place to work. London’s ability to attract and retain global headquarters depends on its ability to offer intentional world-class spaces, and when businesses of this scale stay, so does the talent, the spending, the innovation and the economic activity that keeps the city alive and prosperous.
But that value runs even deeper. From 16 Great Marlborough Street, Diageo operates its UK social programmes, all central to its Society 2030 agenda. Learning for Life has trained over 200,000 people globally since 2008 with an 82% employment progression rate and a focus on women and underrepresented groups. The Diageo Bar Academy supports professional development across the hospitality sector. And Raising the Bar is a £30 million hospitality support programme launched during the instability of Covid. Our incredibly functional central London HQ is the platform that makes all of it possible.
When a space is truly designed with the long-term needs and goals of its people in mind, the ripple effects reach far beyond the front door.
¿Want to know more?
Curabitur id lacus elit. Pellentesque quis enim eu nibh ullamcorper malesuada. Donec sed elementum diam. Sed semper nisi dolor. Donec finibus est vitae pulvinar vulputate. Donec purus est, tempus sit amet rhoncus vitae, ultrices eu sem.