John Lewis drops value of head office by £15.6m
The John Lewis Partnership has downgraded the value of its London head office by £15.6m, following an increasing shift towards hybrid working amongst its staff.
This comes after the group, which owns both the John Lewis and Waitrose brands, announced it would close seven floors of its London office.
In 2022, the partnership negotiated the early surrender of its leasehold interest in its 220,000 sq ft London office, which was set to come to an end in May.
It has also revised the use of its Bracknell office buildings, cutting a large number of space but retaining the site’s gym and sports hall sites.
John Lewis also said that simplifying the way its stores work to cut costs will see an impact on staff numbers.
These changes come as the group looks to increase its cost-cutting measures threefold to £900m by January 2026, as it looks to come back from a £234m loss for the full year ending 28 January 2023. The partnership’s chair, Dame Sharon White, said its mantra for the year is “cost out, margins up and customer focus”.