King’s Cross has announced the appointment of Henry Shearer as Head of Office and Investment, having led the team as Acting Head for the past year.
Under Henry’s leadership, King’s Cross is bringing forward a range of office spaces to lease throughout 2024 and beyond. These include space at Western Transit Shed, Two Pancras Square, the canal-side F1 Building, where construction is due to start later this year, and The Jellicoe, where King’s Cross is delivering new purpose-built flexible workspace in partnership with Fora (formerly The Office Group) as it continues to evolve its product offer to office occupiers.
Fundamental to the office and investment strategy at King’s Cross is the drive to achieve net zero carbon by 2035. For Henry and his team, this means working closely with office occupiers to reduce operational energy, implementing new technologies and investing in building improvements to reduce emissions. Office occupiers are also invited to quarterly ESG Forums hosted by the King’s Cross team to discuss how they can work in partnership to realise their net zero carbon ambitions. As well as supporting King’s Cross’ own sustainability goals, these measures support office occupiers to meet their own targets.
Using King’s Cross’ Smart Building strategy, Henry’s team will continue to lead on innovation and smart building technology to ensure office buildings are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible and that users have a fully optimised experience within the buildings.
Henry Shearer, Head of Office and Investment, said: “After 12 months in the role as Acting Head, I am delighted to be taking on the role of permanent Head of Office and Investment at King’s Cross. The breadth and depth of our office occupiers, the scale of the estate and the quality and heritage of the development, as well as its ambitious commitment to ESG, makes King’s Cross one of the most globally sought-after commercial destinations.”
“What really sets King’s Cross apart for me is its holistic approach to workplace experience; it has never just been about office buildings. By integrating an extraordinary programme of cultural events and thought-provoking public art installations with a diverse and exciting retail, F&B, leisure and wellbeing offer, King’s Cross has created a genuinely thriving mixed-use environment which is fundamental to attracting and retaining great occupiers – and for them, attracting the best talent.”
“I am looking forward to working in partnership with new and existing occupiers to help them deliver their real estate strategies at King’s Cross and to help us reach our collective net zero carbon goals. I am also excited to continue exploring new investment opportunities to expand our asset holdings.”
Anthea Harries, Asset Management Director, added: “In the short time Henry has been with us, he has already used his wealth of experience in real estate to make a significant impact at King’s Cross across our occupier relationships, leasing, asset strategy and investment. Under his leadership, we look forward to continuing our success in the office and investment space and evolving our commercial offer for new and existing occupiers.”
Henry brings almost two decades of experience and leadership across commercial real estate investment, development, leasing and asset management, including roles as Head of UK and Vice President for Offices, Retail and Life Sciences at Oxford Properties Group. During his almost 10-year tenure, he played a pivotal role in growing the company’s office and retail platform in the UK.
With space for up to 30,000 workers, King’s Cross continues to be the home and UK headquarters of innovative and dynamic organisations including Meta, Nike, Sony, Havas and AstraZeneca.