Scandal-hit Boohoo splashes £72m on new office in London’s West End after acquisition of Arcadia brands
- New Soho office needed after acquisition of Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton
- Boohoo’s presence in London has grown ‘significantly’ since 2019
- Some 600 staff will be working from the new office on a ‘flexible’ basis
Boohoo has said it bought a new office in the heart of London’s West End for £72million to house more staff and products after the acquisition of a raft of Arcadia brands.
The online fashion retailer, which has its HQ in Manchester, said the new office in Soho was a necessary step after its presence in the capital has grown significantly since its acquisition of Karen Millen and Coast brands in 2019.
Boohoo has been growing rapidly over the past few years and recently bought the Debenhams brand as well as Arcadia’s Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton out of administration.
London calling: Boohoo said the new office will be the ‘flexible’ base for 600 members of staff
It said approximately 600 members of staff will be working from the new office on a ‘flexible’ basis.
The new Soho office will become home for ‘all London-based product, marketing, technology and central support teams’, it explained.
As business grows for Boohoo, the group also announced it had bought a new giant warehouse in Daventry last week, which it said it will allow it handle £4billion of revenue, up from its current £1.7billion.
The acquisition – first mooted by The Mail on Sunday in February – saves 330 jobs and could add another 400 positions in the short term.
But news of the new Soho office comes as the company is still trying to mend its tarnished reputation after it was rocked by allegations of slave labour.
Last summer, two of its factories in the UK were accused of poor working conditions and of paying as little as £3.50 to £4 an hour to workers producing its clothes.
The group has cut ties with hundreds of its suppliers since then, but last month it faced fresh pressure from MPs, who told the company to link its bosses’ bonuses to improvement in workers’ rights instead of ‘breakneck’ growth.
It was also recently revealed that Boohoo could face a US import ban because of allegations it used forced labour at its Leicester clothing factories.
Boohoo shares were up 2.1 per cent to 359p by 11:30am on Tuesday.
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