Grounds for celebration as IQL partners with Change Please

A coffee-based social enterprise that provides barista training and jobs for the homeless is now serving up lattes, flat whites, and americanos to the members of Workable; a brand-new shared workspace at International Quarter London. 

The Change Please initiative was launched in 2015, providing jobs, training, and access to housing for those in the local homeless community. Starting out with a single coffee cart in Covent Garden, they now operate at 14 locations across London and put 100 per cent of their profits into helping to alleviate homelessness.

The average Londoner treats themselves to two cups of coffee every single day, and the latest Change Please location is the café within a new shared workspace initiative in the heart of International Quarter London called Workable.

Workable offers a range of individual and group workspaces, break-out areas, meeting rooms and event space, complete with spectacular views and the latest technologies to support flexible working. The workspace also provides mentoring programmes to help young businesses grow, and with Stratford Underground and Stratford International stations a five-minute walk away, it is one of London’s best-connected shared workspaces. 

Workable is part of International Quarter London (IQL), a £2.4billion joint venture development between Lendlease and LCR, to create a vibrant new neighbourhood at the heart of Stratford that brings together new homes, offices, and a diverse mix of shops. 

Andrew Tobin, Project Director of IQL for Lendlease commented: “Generating a positive social and economic impact is a key part of the ethos at Lendlease – we aim to support economic prosperity and enhance community inclusion within all of our developments. Workable at IQL is the perfect opportunity to partner with Change Please, and we are proud that they will be the café operators at our new shared workspace, providing high-quality coffee and helping London’s homeless community.”

Julian Burnham, Managing Director at Change Please, said: “We believe the coffee industry has the power to change lives – since launching in 2015 we have helped over 175 people with support or training and 72 with employment as baristas. Partnerships with companies like Lendlease provide a huge boost to our efforts and we look forward to providing everyone at Workable with great coffee that truly makes a difference.” 

Adrian Lee, Development Director at LCR, said:“We’re delighted to be welcoming Change Please to IQL and supporting their mission to transform the lives of people experiencing homelessness in London. They’re another example of the unique operators we’re welcoming to IQL, forming a key part of our efforts to create an inclusive and diverse destination to live, work and play, and establish a sense of community and place.” 

Nash Bond and CF Commercial represented IQL, Change Please dealt direct.

ENDS

For further information on leasing news and Lendlease, please contact Harriet Sutton harriet.sutton@lendlease.com 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Workable 

Workable is part of International Quarter London (IQL) – a £2.4bn new neighbourhood mixing offices, new homes and a diverse mix of retailers. With the tube, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth Line, High Speed and National Rail all within a five-minute walk, Workable is one of the best-connected shared workspaces in London. The space provides unrivalled views of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the London Stadium, the London Aquatics Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, and panoramic views across London.

In addition to the unrivalled transport connections, Workable has highly competitive prices, the choice of both communal and solitary bookable spaces, and is looking to generate positive social impact through its on-site Change Please café, which provides jobs, training and access to housing to those in the local homeless community.

About International Quarter London 

·      International Quarter London is a £2.4 billion joint venture development between Lendlease and LCR. Located at the heart of Europe’s largest urban regeneration in Stratford, the project will deliver four million sq. ft. of Grade ‘A’ office space, new homes and community facilities within a 22 acre (c.9 hectare) site. 

·      With the vision to create London’s new home for progressive businesses, International Quarter London benefits from an abundance of green space and fresh air, access to some of the world’s most forward-thinking cultural institutions, unrivalled transport connectivity and a workplace design that has employee wellbeing at its heart. 

·      Progress is well underway onsite with the first two residential towers now complete and more than one million sq. ft. of office space already pre-let. Investments from Deutsche Bank Asset Management and Legal & General totalled more than £615m of forward sales for the first two commercial buildings, one of which TfL took handover of in September 2017, and the other the Financial Conduct Authority took handover of in March 2018. 

·      A third building, accommodating more than 7,000 employees is also underway on the south site, with space there pre-let to Cancer Research UK and British Council. 

About Lendlease

·      Lendlease is a leading international property and infrastructure group with operations in Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas. 

·      Our vision is to create the best places; places that inspire and enrich the lives of people around the world. 

·       Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, Lendlease has approximately 13,100 employees internationally. 

·       Our core capabilities are reflected in our operating segments of Development, Construction and Investments. The combination of these three segments provides us with a sustainable competitive advantage and allows us to provide innovative integrated solutions for our customers. 

·       Lendlease is behind some of London’s largest and most exciting mixed-use regeneration projects such as Elephant Park and International Quarter London. In early 2018, it was appointed by Google as lead construction partner on its landmark new headquarters’ in King’s Cross and is the preferred contractor for Birmingham’s Perry Barr development, due for completion in 2020. 

·       Lendlease is also responsible for the development of Euston Over Station Development, working closely with HS2, the Department for Transport and the London Borough of Camden; Network Rail and other stakeholders to optimise the outcomes for London and the UK. 

·       In June 2018, Lendlease announced plans for the acquisition with Starwood Capital, subject to pre-completion conditions, of The Silvertown Partnership which holds development rights in a major urban renewal project in London’s East End. 

·       Lendlease was recognised as the UK’s Most Sustainable Residential Developer by the NextGeneration Sustainability Benchmark for setting new standards of sustainability and customer engagement for two consecutive years in 2018, 2017 and 2016, scoring more than double the industry average. 

·       In April 2019, Lendlease won the highest accolade at Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Awards. It was awarded the most points at April’s ceremony for excellence in promoting good mental health in the workplace. 

About LCR

·       A skilled commercial developer and the UK Government’s placemaking expert, LCR has a 20-year track record of creating exciting new destinations for people to live, work and experience. It leads on the regeneration of complex sites, working with public and private sector partners to deliver homes and jobs and create value from transport-linked land and property assets.  

·       LCR was responsible for the delivery of the High Speed 1 railway comprising St. Pancras International, Stratford International and Ebbsfleet. It also led the complex land assembly and master-planning to unlock the £3bn mixed-use redevelopment of Kings Cross – one of London’s most successful regeneration stories

·       Today, LCR is progressing a number of major development projects, including: The regeneration of the 24-acre Mayfield site in Manchester, with U&I, Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester and the 1,000,000 sq ft commercial redevelopment of the Axis site in Birmingham.

·       In London, LCR is delivering the £2.4bn International Quarter London scheme in Stratford, in a joint venture with Lendlease, and is developing Waterloo, London – a new 135,000 sq ft retail and leisure destination at the former Eurostar terminal.

·       Nationally, LCR is working with local authorities to bring forward development around stations across the country.    

·       LCR is wholly-owned by the Department for Transport.