Credit Suisse

case study

Credit Suisse Group is a Swiss multinational financial services holding company, headquartered in Zürich, that operates the Credit Suisse Bank and other financial services investments. Founded in 1856, they have a global reach with operations in about 50 countries and c.47,000 employees.

Challenge

Credit Suisse sought to radically re-develop and rationalise the bank’s London office accommodation via a comprehensive programme of relocation and renovation activities, undertaken through a series of structured phases over 3 years. The project included the modernisation of 10 floors of existing offices to take advantage evolving technology and new workings styles. The first phase consisted of a programme of extensive works which were undertaken to replace the end of life infrastructure including lifts, air conditioning systems and training facilities. This also entailed crafting and implementing the strategy and feasibility planning for moving a large number of people, including trading floors, into temporary swing space without any disruption to the banking business.

A key part of the phase 1 involved relocating 4,000 employees including a live trading floor with over 1500 trading and support staff over 35 weeks in several phases to enable these works to be undertaken. Phase 2 then involved a further 3,800 moves (including 900 traders in a live trading environment) both into the newly modernised trading floor and into newly created smart working areas as well as further decant moves to clear another four floors for refurbishments and hand back three floors to the Landlord.

solution

From a standing start Baker Stuart had to develop the accommodation strategy, master stack plan and decant strategy for the first move phase, with only an 8 week lead time from appointment to the handover of the first large floor plate for refurbishment.

Working closely with the in house FM, real estate and IT teams, Baker Stuart developed a programme management approach to the delivery of multiple simultaneous moves throughout three buildings to ensure scopes and delivery expectations were clear. Incorporating central reporting procedures and practices as well as hands on, face-to-face engagement to manage the clients expectations during phases 1 and 2 was pivotal to the business enabling floors to be cleared and handed over to the building contractor for isolation works to begin.

Modernisation of the office environment and the expansion of the Smart Working space included a change management exercise to support the transition to the new working environment following the refurbishment of the floors.

benefits

Development of a stack plan for the first move phase to quickly clear floors for refurbishment and minimise contractor prelims.
A complex decant sequence of multiple moves and enabling works across three buildings agreed with all moving departments and the IT delivery teams with multiple swing moves minimised.
All required floors cleared to allow the main contractor to commence fit-out works.
Live trading floors moved with zero downtime and disruption.
Careful stack planning allowed for additional floors to be handed back to the Landlord early.

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