Reading: Ericsson opens new UK headquarters at Thames Tower

Ericsson has announced it will establish a new UK headquarters in Thames Tower, Reading. The company is moving its headquarters from Guildford Business Park.

Ericsson has signed a 10-year lease with Thames Tower development partners, Landid and Brockton Capital, and work is already underway to establish world-class ICT facilities which will be spread across 37,600 sq ft over three floors.

The modern, flexible working environment will house a state of the art Network Operations Centre from which Ericsson will manage mobile infrastructure and services for operators across the UK, including more than 25,000 mobile base stations and half a million multi technology radio cells. Work is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2018.

Thames Tower will bring together all staff currently located at the company’s Guildford and Newbury offices. Work is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2018.

Marielle Lindgren, head of Ericsson UK & Ireland, said: “Establishing our new headquarters in Reading marks the start of another chapter of innovation and collaboration in Ericsson UK. It brings us closer to our customers and creates an exciting opportunity for us to be at the heart of one of the UK’s leading IT and tech hubs, enabling us to attract the most talented ICT practitioners. We wanted our new office environment to address a number of things: to meet the needs of our evolving business requirements; to provide a collaborative, balanced and flexible work space and to give easy access to a variety of amenities and transport options. Thames Tower offers all of this and more.

“We are sad to say farewell to Guildford and its strong and supportive community and we would like to extend our warmest thanks to everyone who has helped to make the city our home for the last 30 years.”

Situated directly opposite Reading Station, on the newly developed and pedestrianised Station Plaza, Thames Tower acts as a high-profile landmark, welcoming visitors to Reading.

James Silver, Landid Development director, said: “Attracting a tenant of Ericsson’s scale is a watershed moment for the Thames Tower and Reading. It marks another strong endorsement in the town centre as a well-connected, modern and attractive place for blue-chip businesses and start-up firms alike to do business. It also confirms Thames Tower’s place as Reading’s premier commercial building with three quarters of the office space now let to some of the Western Corridor’s biggest names.”

Dan Rees, vice-president at Brockton Capital LLP, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Ericsson to Thames Tower to join the fast-growing collection of firms that have chosen to make Reading’s landmark office development their home. Thames Tower is now over 75% leased, which is testament to the building’s prime location, exceptional views and high performance design.”