babel projects ltd
strategic move management partnership with one of the big four
Our strategic partnership with one of the big four global professional services firms is delivered through an integrated service, combining babel projects' strategy and move management expertise with our physical logistics partner, Business Moves Group (BMG). This partnership has been central to planning and managing the firm's major property transformation and move projects across London and the UK since November 2013.
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The scope of work is comprehensive, covering departmental and building stack analysis, migration strategy, project management, and physical move support. To date, this unified team has successfully completed over 25,000 staff relocations across the UK.
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the challenge
sustained transformation and high-volume scale
The partnership began in 2013 with the complex, multi-phased refurbishment of the firm's flagship London office (c. 5,500 staff). This project required babel projects to establish the strategic planning framework and BMG to execute a migration strategy that ensured absolute business continuity. This success set the precedent for an ongoing partnership dedicated to sustained transformation across the UK estate.
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This complexity evolved into an ongoing challenge of managing high-volume change across the UK estate, including:
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Managing single phased moves (e.g., Manchester, Edinburgh) alongside massive, multi-phase programmes (e.g., London, 8,200 staff moves).
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Supporting the firm’s vision of creating more collaborative workspaces, touchdowns, and hybrid working policies while moves were actively taking place.
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Maintaining the same high service level and quality of delivery across every office, regardless of size or location.
the solution
strategic oversight and proactive cost efficiency
The solution relies on rigorous strategic planning and proactive operational management by the integrated team. babel projects provides the strategic oversight and governance for the overall programme, ensuring the move strategy aligns with the firm's long-term property goals.
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babel projects consistently develops and reviews migration strategies for major property projects across the firm's UK estate. This includes conducting detailed analysis of space requirements and interdependencies to propose workable building stacks and complex, multi-phase move schedules that are often required for large-scale transformations.
the result
proven reliability and 25,000 successful moves
The strategic partnership, spanning over 20 years, has resulted in the successful execution of over 25,000 staff relocations across the UK, cementing the integrated team's role as a trusted partner in the firm's property transformation journey.
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The project demonstrated the team's ability to execute complex, long-running programmes while simultaneously delivering operational efficiency and supporting the firm's vision to attract and retain outstanding people.
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Key projects include:
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London Bridge: 22 phases and 8,200 staff moved.
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Canary Wharf: 5 phases and 3,300 staff moved.
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Multiple UK Offices: Single-phased moves for entire offices in cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast and Birmingham.
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Ongoing maintenance and restacks: Continuous restacks, and floor closures across the UK estate to support the firm’s evolving hybrid work model, including trials of new workspace designs.
