'YOU FEEL PROUD TO COME TO WORK EVERY DAY' - FORESIGHT CHAIRMAN ON LIFE IN THE SHARD
Bernard Fairman, Chairman and founder of leading infrastructure and private equity investment company Foresight, explains why he decided to relocate to The Shard to help the business grow.
Why did you decide to move to The Shard?
It’s a building known throughout the world, so by moving here we’re making a pretty profound statement. It says that we think we’re the best at what we do, and we’re in the best building in Europe – a building that instantly conveys a certain prestige to everyone who is in it.
What are the advantages of working here?
If you look at a map of London, London Bridge is slap bang in the centre and the connections are excellent in all directions, to the West End, to the City, and all your counterparties are probably within 10-15 minutes of where we are sitting now.
What’s the best thing about London Bridge?
It’s a very vibrant part of London. Lots of things are happening around here – there's an energy here that you get in certain parts of the world. I have experienced this kind of buzz on certain parts of the west coast in the US like San Francisco, so to get that in London is quite special, and we all sense that vibrancy as soon as you go out of the front door.
“I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS KIND OF BUZZ ON CERTAIN PARTS OF THE WEST COAST IN THE US LIKE SAN FRANCISCO, SO TO GET THAT IN LONDON IS QUITE SPECIAL”
Bernard Fairman
Have you noticed any changes to your business since moving to The Shard?
I think that because it’s a building that is talked about around the world, everybody wants to come here. One of the things we experienced within just a week or so of moving in was that many of our counterparties who would not normally have visited us absolutely wanted to come. We have about three times the number of meeting rooms than we had at our previous location and they are pretty much full all of the time.
What effect have you seen on your staff as a result of the move?
It's certainly made our people feel proud to come to work. Clearly they are talking to their friends who have all heard of The Shard and think it's quite something to work here. It's perceived as a cool place to be.
What would you say to other prospective tenants thinking about moving to The Shard?
I have not looked back for one moment since we have come here. I think you will get a significant benefit both in terms of staff morale and in terms of the way your business is perceived by its customers - even by your competitors. You will enjoy the experience and feel proud to come into work every day. I am sure that will reflect as successfully on your business as it has on ours.
