jonmassey – Page 5

January 11, 2024January 11, 2024

Royal Docks: How NASSA’s match with the Met is more than just a game of basketball

Newham All Star Sports Academy contest with police marks 15 years of CABNAB partnership

Anthony Okereafor founded Carry A Basketball Not A Blade

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At 5.30pm a game of basketball will begin at UEL Sports Dock on January 25, 2024.

But the players will be doing more than making passes, shooting hoops and competing.

It’s not the first time that a team from Newham All Start Sports Academy (NASSA) has taken on a squad of serving Met Police officers.

But this year is the latest in a series of events marking the 15 years of partnership between the two organisations.

Son of NASSA founder Natasha Hart – Anthony Okereafor – founded Carry A Basketball Not A Blade (CABNAB) in 2008 following the fatal stabbing of two of his friends within weeks of each other.

Its programme reaches thousands of young people each year, alerting them to the dangers of knife crime and carrying knives through basketball coaching and question and answer sessions.

The annual game is held to show the strength of organisations working together in the community, but also to remember those who have died as a result of knife crime locally during the year – with a hoop shot for every life lost.

“We come together to play a game of basketball, but the most important part of it is remembering those lives,” said Anthony.

“The event allows people in the community to see Met officers as human beings.

“It helps to break down the barriers for young people – to show them police officers enjoy sport just as they do.

“Trying to build a safer community isn’t just about removing the knives.

“It’s about making sure the right relationships and structures are in place to try to reduce the number of people who fall through the gaps.

“The game is common ground, it changes the dynamic.

“One of the things NASSA and CABNAB participants say is that when they meet officers in these settings they talk and have conversations and that’s something to build on.”

NASSA engages with young people through sport to help tackle knife crime – image Ilyas Ayub

That’s also something the Met is looking forward to with Chief Superintendent, Simon Crick, set to take part in his first game against NASSA since taking over as borough commander for Newham and Waltham Forest.

“It’s the engagement with young people and the diversion away from anti-social behaviour that’s so important,” said Simon, who began his career as a police constable in Newham.

“This part of London has seen more than its fair share of homicides and violent incidents over recent years and I’m really supportive of what NASSA and CABNAB are trying to do.

“Having been down to Sports Dock and seen all of the things the charity has achieved, it’s really good for us to be a part of it and to try and do something positive with young people. It’s really empowering.

“As for the game itself, we’ll get annihilated, without a doubt – I’m sure.

“I’m really looking forward to the game – anything that we can do to show a willingness to engage with young people, work with them and have a bit of fun, is really positive.

“Building relationships is what it’s all about – there’s too much animosity, so we need to do more of that.

“Alongside me, some of my senior leadership team will be playing and they understand the need to engage with young people.

“There will also be some neighbourhood officers in there, whose purpose and role in life is to do that – to support young people and divert them away from crime and anti-social behaviour.

“I think it will be really empowering for our officers – it always helps build that trust, whenever something is fun for those taking part, and it will help make their jobs easier.

“The uniform can be seen as a barrier sometimes and, if people can see you’re human through playing sport, that’s really important.”

The charity plays its games at UEL’s Sports Dock – image Ilyas Ayub

For NASSA and the young people that participate in its programmes, the game is a chance to explore those relationships and find some parallels.

Anthony said: “When people put on a uniform, there’s a certain reputation they have to uphold.

“When we play basketball, we put on a uniform and we preach that to our young people – it’s the same with school uniforms.

“When wearing them, you have to represent certain things, to look at the bigger picture of what that means, how you carry yourself and the importance of that.

“There is a natural tension with the Met, but police officers are also the first responders – they are the people you call when you’re in trouble and they also go through traumas related to the work they do.

vWhen the officers are playing, you don’t see that tension with the young people and that’s a seed that can be planted to grow into something better.

“Who knows, one of our young people might end up saying they want to join the police themselves.

“I’ve never worked for the police, but I can imagine officers are always on high alert for themselves and those around them as they work to keep people safe.

“This game is an opportunity for them to let their hair down – a bit of a break in a safe place and a chance to communicate with young people.”

With a reduction in youth services locally, that’s a welcome prospect for Simon and his colleagues.

He said: “There’s a lack of youth engagement opportunities following austerity – we saw huge cuts to many of those services locally and what NASSA does is phenomenal – bringing young people together locally.

“It gives them the ability to work as a team, to enjoy themselves, to get fit and have fun.

“It gives them somewhere to go and a sense of purpose.

“Having young kids myself, I know how important sport can be when they’re growing and everything is changing in their lives.

NASSA is set to take on the Met in a symbolic game on January 25, 2024 – image Ilyas Ayub

“That continuous focus around sport can be crucial.

“NASSA also provides a sense of family – speaking to Natasha, you really understand it’s a close knit organisation and people coming into it will really feel that.

“That’s important because I think lots of young people feel very alienated in the modern world. What NASSA does is very powerful.

“Knife crime is an issue that goes far beyond the police.

“We deal with situations where people are on the street carrying knives or when they’ve been the victim of a homicide or serious assault.

“There are things we do – very well planned and coordinated partnership activities – to try and reduce offending.

“But tackling this issue starts a lot earlier than that. It often begins in the home with good parenting and at school with education.

“There are so many factors that play into it.

“Where we’ve seen success across the country and across the world, has been when a public health approach is taken.

“That’s where numerous partners including charities, police forces and other organisations, come together to look at all the different factors that feed into knife crime, such as deprivation

“This game is a good example of how we’re trying to reach out and encourage young people to be part of that.

“We’re a long way from solving the problem, but we’ve recognised as a service that only a partnership approach will address it.

“If you speak to young people and ask them why they carry knives, a lot of them would say they are for self defence or to make sure that they are safe.

“If I had a magic wand it would be used to make people not feel unsafe or at risk so they wouldn’t feel the need to carry a knife.

“That’s the ultimate aim – it’s difficult to achieve that because of all the factors that affect it.

“For a young person to say they need to carry a knife to feel safe speaks volumes and that’s that we need to address first.”

While the game on January 25, 2024, is not open to the general public, organisations or individuals who would like to support NASSA can get in touch with the charity and may be able to attend.

Support from businesses, either financial or through volunteering is welcomed so NASSA and CABNAB can continue their vital work.

Find out more about NASSA and CABNAB here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

January 10, 2024January 10, 2024

Canary Wharf: How Creative Virtual is taming large language model AI

Cabot Square-based global leader talks about conversational chatbot technology and ChatGPT

Chris Ezekiel of Canary Wharf-based Creative Virtual – image by Matt Grayson

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“Wharf Life newspaper was founded by Archant, a publishing company, to serve the area around Canary Wharf,” states ChatGPT 3.5, confidently, when asked who created this paper.

It sounds plausible, going on to say: “Archant is a well-established media company with a history of creating local newspapers and publications”.

This demonstrates one of the issues inherent with AI large language models. They are prone to making things up.

Wharf Life was founded by Massey Maddison Ltd in 2019 and has no connection to Archant – a business that used to run the East London And Docklands Advertiser before it collapsed into administration and was subsequently taken over by US-owned media firm Newsquest.

Imagine, for a minute, that my question had been about something much more important than the vanity of asking about this newspaper – that the answer given might have serious consequences for me or the organisation I’m contacting through a chatbot.

With AI finding its way into all sorts of areas of life – including Newsquest’s reporting, incidentally – trust becomes an issue that should be uppermost in the minds of those interacting with it, either as readers or customers.

It’s a topic that’s been on the mind of Chris Ezekiel and his team at Creative Virtual for some time.

He founded the conversational artificial intelligence company on the Isle Of Dogs 20 years ago, investing its profits to grow it into a global business that won the Queen’s Award For Enterprise in 2017.

Now based in Canary Wharf, the firm is considered a leader in its field, competing with the likes of Microsoft, IBM and Google in a sector that until 12 months ago was largely below the public radar.

That all changed in 2022 with the public release of ChatGPT – an event that sent the world giddy with the prospect of what large language models might be capable of.

“It’s been a seismic shift for our sector,” said Chris, who is based at 25 Cabot Square.

“We’d been looking at these models for about three years but everybody was surprised by the impact that this launch by OpenAI had.

“What’s been amazing has been the proliferation of other big companies coming out with their own competitive versions.

“One of the things about running an independent company in the way we do is that you have to keep making profit to invest.

“This makes the choices you make as founder and CEO more critical.

Chris’ business is always looking to the future of organisations’ interactions with customers and employees

“There are always ups and downs when running a company – my role is to make sure there are more highs than lows.

“However, our setup also means that we can take a longer term view when it comes to developing products, alongside the way we work with our customers and the commercial models we adopt.

“One of the things that’s been a massive success for us this year, strategically, is that we immediately offered all our customers completely free proof of concepts related to using this technology to serve their customers and employees – running large language models alongside our chatbot technology.

“It was about asking how they could be used and what the concerns might be.

“At launch, they were much more susceptible to getting stuff wrong and making things up with no way of telling where those errors came from.

“So it was about working with our clients to establish what the challenges were.

“Many had seen the models and thought they could save a fortune – writing stuff for them and answering their customers’ and employees’ questions.

“The business teams were focused on that but then they realised the risks associated with this technology and realised it would need to involve the legal and compliance teams.

“We literally saw companies developing solutions they wanted to deploy for real, while in parallel setting up ethical AI teams, who we were working with to address their concerns.”

Essentially, developing those proofs of concept meant Creative Virtual – which works with the likes of HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group – learnt a great deal about what it would take to make use of the things ChatGPT and other similar models were offering in large organisations.

“Three themes came out of this work – one is trust in the models and the content they create,” said Chris.

“The second is control – to use this technology, organisations need the ability to make sure they can override the models in certain cases.

“For example, if a customer wanted to replace a lost credit card, you need a very structured process that is compliant, trustworthy, accurate, reproducible and consistent – all of the things we’ve always provided as a company.

“There are ways to do this by training AI on the documents, policies, procedures and product information from a particular organisation.

“On top of that you can also create rules to override the model in certain circumstances.

“The Gluon release of our V-Person technology offers a blended approach – AI created content from large language models and human-curated content, which is perfect for organisations which are trying to create accurate, trustworthy interactions.

“The third theme that came up was experience. As a 20-year-old company, we know what it takes to act as AI consultants.

“We’ve had to change our company to be aware of all the different models that are out there.

“Some of these large language models are good at some things, but not so good at others so it’s our experience that allows us to help these large organisations, who want to understand how they can be used and the benefits.

“We’re focused on delivering the control and trust they need through our products and the expertise of our people, to take full advantage of this technology.”

The emergence of large language models has also broadened Creative Virtual’s approach as it explores different sectors and applications for its products.

“It’s changed the company a lot,” said Chris.

“We worked with an accounting company in Australia – MYOB – to use generative AI to create content with a human in control to sign it off.

“They’ve just won a major customer experience award having followed through on a proof of concept with us to create a project.

“That’s the joy we get from this kind of innovation – working very closely with customers who realise the benefits of what this tech can offer.

“This type of AI can provide lots of solutions for sectors such as healthcare and government too – any organisation that has lots of documents.

“Historically we’ve mostly been focused on customer services and resources for employees but we’re now starting to deploy solutions in sales.

“A classic case is what we’re doing on the travel side.

“Currently, if you walk into a travel agent, the person there helping to advise on a trip might sometimes refer to their own or a colleague’s experience.

“There’s no reason a chatbot couldn’t be used to do something similar – using content to show what other customers’ experiences of a destination have been like – an advocate that’s scaleable.”

Chris says companies are developing architecture to make interacting with multiple devices and services through AI possible – image by Matt Grayson

As for the future, Chris is excited by the prospect of further leaps forward too.

“I think the physical form of AI is going to be an interesting one, like having your own robot butler which interacts with the devices in your home, such as your fridge, to keep an eye on supplies, or your smart watch to monitor vitamin intake,” said Chris.

“I think that the future is joining up the AI to connected devices.

“People use the term hyper-personalisation, where organisations know lots of things about you.

“Even with issues of privacy, people often don’t mind revealing personal details if it improves their experience.

“In the future, you won’t even have to think about how you interact with the AI.

“People are already using their voices more to control devices.

“Organisations will know the context of the conversation you’re having and will switch to different channels, so you can start off on the phone, then move to the web, with everything seamlessly connected together.

“We’re starting to develop architecture that will make this really easy to do.

“The big companies we work with talk about the composable enterprise, where we can slot all these different systems together.

“Organisations then don’t have to worry what’s coming from this company or that firm – they can select the technology that’s best of breed, and platforms which create an overall digital customer experience.”

Find out more about Creative Virtual and its products and services here

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023

Royal Docks: How UEL has unveiled the Royal Docks Centre For Sustainability

Mayors of London and Newham attend the launch of the facility aimed at supporting innovation

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The University Of East London has officially launched the Royal Docks Centre For Sustainability (RDCS) at its Docklands campus.

The mayors of London and Newham joined UEL’s vice-chancellor to unveil a wooden plaque to mark the December 6, 2024 opening, hailing the move as the “dawn of a new era in innovation and sustainability

“The opening of this centre is an incredibly special milestone for UEL and for the future of our city,” said Mayor Of London, Sadiq Khan.

“I believe this centre is best seen as symbolising two of the most profound changes happening in London right now – our shift eastwards and our shift to net zero.

“The RDCS embodies London’s direction of travel.

“City Hall moved to this area because I believe great things will be done in the Royal Docks.

“This centre is now integral to one of the most significant regeneration projects in Britain and will help drive the entire venture forward over the coming decades – delivering good, inclusive growth as well as well-paid, high-skilled, meaningful jobs for east Londoners.

“The work that will be done here presents an opportunity to demonstrate how we can achieve both economic progress and environmental protection.

“There’s also the chance to accelerate the sustainability aspects of existing work in the community – the list of possibilities is long, but the time in which we have to act is short.”

The RDCS is billed as a “regional hatchery for innovation, skills and enterprise” offering local people, companies and UEL students access to affordable workspace as well as academic research and expertise.

Headed by director Robert De Jong, it will also run programmes aimed at launching and growing businesses or boosting east Londoners’ skills.

“As a centre we have to be an enabler and bring people in,” said Robert.

“We’re not starting from ground zero.

“We already have some amazing initiatives – the talent is here. RDCS will be a platform for us to connect, collaborate, form new partnerships and also strengthen existing ones.”

The RDCS itself is arranged over three floors of a building at UEL’s Royal Albert Dock campus.

Part-funded by the Royal Docks Team’s Good Growth Fund, it’s intended to be a hub for innovation and creativity, forming part of the university’s plans to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Alongside other facilities it will house UEL’s Living Lab, a partnership with Siemens that aims to offer students, researchers and local businesses a place to test, research and adapt technology to real-world environments.

“The RDCS is not just a building, it is a vision brought to life,” said Professor Amanda Broderick, vice-chancellor at UEL.

“It is a space where researchers, students, alumni, businesses, and local residents converge to create ideas, goals, and ambitions.

“It breaks down the barriers that often separate academia from its neighbours, offering a space where fresh perspectives and the cross-pollination of ideas flourish.

Professor Amanda Broderick, vice-chancellor at UEL

“And recognising that the success of any enterprise rests on the calibre of its workforce, the centre is poised to supply the region’s businesses with a skilled, green workforce ready to tackle the challenges of a rapidly evolving world.

“Aligned with the objectives of London’s only Enterprise Zone and building on UEL’s lead in business incubation and acceleration, this is a ground-breaking investment into our communities’ growth and development within east London and in our gateway to the world.”

Aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the centre has ambitious goals to contribute to the local economy, address challenges here and across the planet and to help foster a cleaner, safer world.

“The RDSC brings together entrepreneurial ingredients from across Newham to support the development of future skills while driving needed collaboration between industry, academia and our people,” said Rokhsana Fiaz, Mayor Of Newham.

“Partnerships and collaboration resulting from the launch of the new centre will help to implement the borough’s Just Transition Plan, upskilling residents and providing opportunities to deliver new solutions that will be essential for adapting to climate change and transitioning towards a green economy.

“This new space allows Newham and broader east London to convene with partners from various sectors to help collectively solve all the interconnected challenges that the climate emergency presents us.

“While the challenges may be known, the solutions will look different in every sector, in every neighbourhood, so it’s critical to have a centre like this helping solve global challenges in a local way.”

The launch of the centre was also a platform for UEL to launch its Year Of Science, which is set to culminate with hosting the British Science Festival – a gathering of scientists, innovators, inventors, researchers and artists keen to show their work to the public.

Next year will see the 193rd iteration of the festival and mark the first time it has been held in London for more than 20 years.

Find out more about the RDCS here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023

Property: How Rebirth is expanding its interior design business to London

Studio specialises in refurbishing properties with a wide range of practical and aesthetic services offered

Rebirth specialise in refurbishing properties to add value to homes

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Excitement bounces between Paul Cuschieri and Malcolm Abela Sciberras as they talk about their approach to the projects they work on.

Having known each other for more than a decade, the pair joined forces in 2019 to create Rebirth, an interior design studio that brings together multiple disciplines to offer clients a comprehensive range of services.

Working in their native Malta, the pair have now expanded operations to London, recently establishing an office to cater for clients across the capital.

A full service operation, Rebirth combines architectural, aesthetic and practical disciplines to offer homeowners as wide a range of options as possible.

Specialising in refurbishments – hence the company’s name – the pair offer everything from conceptual design to detailed drawing and renders, decor and furniture selection and project management.

“Malcolm’s background is in design and mine is in architecture and we’ve joined our vision and expertise together to offer a holistic, well-balanced approach to projects,” said Paul.

“But it’s more than that, we are now providing what we call experiential design.

“We want to create something that goes beyond just being beautiful – spaces that express emotion, that have a certain character, and immediately feel like home.

“We don’t have a specific style. That’s because our work is focused on each client and their requirements are different.

REbirth was founded by Paul Cuschieri, left, and Malcolm Abela Sciberras

“Rebirth offers a boutique experience.

“We need to make sure our spaces speak their language, so that when they have guests they can see and feel that it’s our client’s space they are in.

“As designers, we grow thanks to these projects, because we are subject to so many influences from the people we work for and our research, which helps us creatively.

“We consider our designs as pieces of living art.”

Everything for Rebirth starts with a budget and a brief.

The first is key to identify the boundaries of a scheme, while the second is where the creativity begins.

“When we’re discussing the brief, that’s when our imaginations start to run wild,” said Malcolm.

“We’re always listening to the client, of course, but having a new project is something that’s very exciting for us and the team.”

Paul added: “We start by asking our clients how much they want to invest.

“It would be useless for us to invent all kinds of designs without knowing what they can afford.

“We need to base our concept on their budget, so that’s quite an important question.

“Something we then do – although it takes a bit more effort on our side – is to draw up a skeletal breakdown of the costs.

“Whatever the budget, we create a wish-list to identify what in our proposal we consider to be a priority.

Rather than following a specific style, Rebirth’s approach is bespoke to the property

“We presume that we will have this amount for decoration, this money for services, this for furniture, this for kitchen appliances and so on.

“That gives a starting point. This is flexible, of course, because the client will have certain priorities – communication is key.”

Having completed a diverse portfolio of projects in the firm’s native Malta, Rebirth has expanded to the UK thanks to a recent project.

“We were fortunate enough that one of our Maltese clients has a property in London,” said Paul.

“As soon as we’d finished refurbishing it, we felt that we were on the right track. We’ve always loved London, the culture and the cosmopolitan feel of the place.

“I love its history and that’s something we know about, because we work on listed properties in Malta.

“For those reasons we decided London would be an interesting place to take our services – so we’ve established an office in the city.”

That affinity for working with historic, listed and protected properties is perhaps typified by Rebirth’s response to a brief for a client with a property at Balluta Buildings in St Julian’s.

Built in 1928 and designed by architect Giuseppe Psaila, it is scheduled as a Grade I monument on the Mediterranean island.

“It was built in the Art Deco period and was, at the time, one of the largest and most luxurious properties in Europe,” said Paul.

“The brief was to get the apartment back to its former glory, so we had to do our research on the style and decor.

“The reason people come to us is that we make sure our schemes are layered, that the new interiors we create for a project like this feel like they’ve been there from the start.”

Rebirth works with a brief and budget for its clients

The approach goes far beyond aesthetics too, with Rebirth able to call on the engineering expertise of Paul’s father’s firm to present clients with a full suite of options.

“That means we can combine things like underfloor heating, air conditioning, central heating, lighting and fire protection with what we do,” said Paul.

“We always try to come up with challenges that we might face during a project, so we can tackle them at the design stage rather than during the implementation and risk having delays.

“As my father is an electrical engineer I’ve always been around construction sites, but decided I wanted to follow a more artistic path where I was designing and building something.

“That’s how I got into architecture and I’ve often worked on boutique-type projects with an interest in design, so it’s only natural that I’ve followed this path into interiors.”

The reasons for considering an interior refurbishment are many.

There are practical considerations, when properties require updating purely to remain functional.

Then there are aesthetic and wellbeing concerns, where a change is needed to please the resident and ensure they are comfortable in their environment.

A refurbishment is also an investment, potentially adding significant value to a property if approached correctly.

“Number one on the list is an open-plan kitchen – that’s the thing that sells,” said Paul.

“It mustn’t look dated, it should be functioning well, organised, clean and designed with the right colours.

“The kitchen is the heart of everything and if visitors feel comfortable and welcome there, then that’s a real selling point.

“Then you have the living areas, the principal bedroom and the main bathroom.

Rebirth’s work includes the refurbishment of an apartment at Balluta Buildings in Malta

If there’s a guest bathroom, that’s a place to be a bit more adventurous and to go for a bold statement.

“At Rebirth we can tackle any one of these areas individually for a client or refurbish a whole property.

“If we are doing single rooms, then we will always make sure our design fits with the existing home.

“We also have to make sure our designs are sustainable and that the spaces we create look after us psychologically.”

The overriding theme that runs through the firm’s expansion is one of anticipation.

“We get so inspired when we’re discussing everything with our clients – especially when we’re working on a different style of project and creating a nice concept for them,” said Malcolm.

“In London, we’d love to do a Victorian house with a garden – a property with a lovely character.

“It would be a challenge, but we’d like that and we are able to offer landscaping too.”

Paul added: “We are, of course, a whole team. It’s not just two of us.

“But with every project we have grown and each new one is part of Rebirth’s creative development.”

Find out more about Rebirth’s services here

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023

Wapping: How Tower Bridge Studios and The Nest are looking to the future

Cherryduck in Sampson Street is set to return to its original name as co-working space seeks clients

Co-founder of Tower Bridge Studios and The Nest, James Vellacott

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All businesses evolve and change as the market moves and demand shifts.

So wanderers through Wapping may notice over the coming weeks that Cherryduck Studios in Sampson Street has returned to its original name.

“It was a fun name, but ‘Tower Bridge Studios’ says where we are and what we are,” said co-founder James Vellacott. “It’s time for a change.”

The move is very much a return to focusing on the company’s core operation – hiring out five studio spaces and a plethora of equipment for photographic and video shoots.

“We’ve seen a big push now for higher end shoots coming back to the studio,” said James.

“During Covid people were using their mobile phones for user generated content and the apps like TikTok and Instagram are great for that.

“But bigger organisations are back using the studios for press days, shoots, photography and video.

“This week we’ve had two studios hired for a rugby team with a photographer and camera crew on site.

“We’ve also had a live streaming company that likes to broadcast to its clients.

“Then a national newspaper has taken one of our studios full time, as of next year.

“They shoot a lot of fashion for a weekly magazine with lots of celebrities and they’ve moved here because of our video capability.

“They want to create in-house content but didn’t have the set up that we do and we have all the equipment they need, ready to hire off the shelf.

“We’re seeing the studios really pick up which is brilliant as 2023 has been tough.

Five spaces are available at Tower Bridge Studios

“The writers’ strike in the US has meant that places like Pinewood and Shepperton, which would normally be producing film and television, were empty – so commercial clients could hire them at a much reduced rate.

“This may have been an urban myth, but the lull has certainly picked up now and we’re busy up until Christmas.

“We generally run at around 65% or 70% occupancy although clients typically want to shoot on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“We are in central London, but we have parking right outside so the convenience factor is there. It’s even possible to drive vehicles into two of the studios.

“We’ve tightened things up here and we’re confident we’re ready for whatever 2024 brings us.”

The business was set up in 2008 by husband and wife team James and Michelle, who own the studio spaces they rent out together.

In 2016, the pair invested further in Wapping, buying a neighbouring property and converting it into shared office space and launching it as The Nest in 2018.

The Nest co-working space boasts an interior designed by Gensler

“It took a couple of years to refit,” said James.

“It had been run as residential housing by an old-fashioned family who used a rent book and took cash.

“It definitely wasn’t compliant with building regulations. When we got in, we found the gas meter had been bypassed – that sort of thing.

“We got it running and initially it was a place for creative businesses.

“We were really busy and then Covid came and nobody wanted office space.”

This has meant a change of approach, with The Nest now changed into a co-working space for companies and locals.

It boasts interiors by Gensler – known for working with major corporations and Silicon Valley giants – and includes a fresh air system, a screening cinema, breakout spaces and plenty of walls made from rope. That’s a nod to the building’s history on the site of a former hemp warehouse.

There’s also a full barista set-up for those who prefer their coffee frothy, superfast wi-fi and lots of exposed reclaimed timber to lounge against.

“My personal opinion is that some home working can be good for some businesses – especially for more senior people,” said James.

“But to make a company succeed you have to have drive.

“People who come here, typically want a more collaborative element in their work.

A wide range of spaces are available at The Nest

“It’s not about trusting people to work remotely, it’s about communication – getting people around a table and asking what we’re going to do next, how we’re going to push things forward.

“We can accommodate businesses of various sizes, including people who just want to work on their own and fancy a change of scene.

“Working from home can be a bit laborious, especially if you’re sharing the space with a partner. People coming here get free tea and coffee and they can swipe in and out to come and go as they please.

“We’ve started to get a lot of locals in and we have various firms that use the space – some for three days a week and others more.

“We’d love the space to be a bit busier and currently offer a daily rate of £25 for people who just want to come and work for a day.”

Those doing so might well bump into actor and local resident Dame Helen Mirren, who regularly uses The Nest’s sound recording facilities for her projects.

But even without an A-list appearance there are plenty of attractions, including a firefighters’ pole to slide down and themed meeting rooms that are available on a flexible basis.

“We’re currently re-strategising as a business to ensure we’re nimble and able to go after growth,” said James.

“I’m massively enjoying the hands-on side of the businesses.

“Drive is what we need right now. We’re in every day, meeting clients and helping them with their set-ups in the studios.

“This might be helping to build a set, arrange lighting or sorting out lunch.

“Then, at the end of the shoot, we’ll help them pack down, check the equipment back in and help them out to the cars.

“Then we’ll repaint the white shooting area if needed.

“With The Nest, it’s a great space to be. I love being in there and making the coffees – talking to people and finding out what kind of business they’re in.

“It’s great when it’s buzzing – it has a really nice atmosphere and we’d love more people to come down and check it out.”

Desk rates at The Nest start at £25+VAT with various packages available including full time permanent seats.

Find out more about the studios here and The Nest here

Facilities at The Nest include a screening room

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023

Canary Wharf: How Marcus Lyall is set to illuminate a Wood Wharf tower block for 2024’s Winter Lights festival

Festival is set to return to the estate from January 17-27 with 12 temporary installations for all to see

Marcus Lyall’s Idle Time is set to be shown at Wood Wharf’s Union Square in January 2024

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I first met Marcus Lyall beneath a flyover in Royal Docks.

It was December 2020, the wind was biting and various restrictions were in place thanks to the pandemic’s Christmas-cancelling second wave.

As a result, his epic installation Presence was attracting the attention of only a few, shifty passers-by.

Nevertheless, the piece remained the most impactful work of that year’s Join The Docks festival – with viewers performing short messages into a microphone then seeing them echo between the concrete pillars of the roadway, with visualisation courtesy of an urgent laser and plenty of smoke machines.

Had the times been normal, it would have been a blockbuster – recalling the success the artist had at Canary Wharf’s Winter Lights festival in 2017.

Then, On Your Wavelength – a series of 32 square LED-lit portals drew visitors in droves to Crossrail Place’s once empty shopping level.

This year, the Homerton resident is set to return to the estate for Winter Lights 2024 – with something much bigger than either of these creations.

Idle Time will be projected onto a 50sq m canvas formed by white-wrapped scaffolding behind Wood Wharf’s Union Square.

“The idea for it came from our lives today and how we’re encouraged very much to think about optimisation and efficiency – what we can fit into a day,” said Marcus, who works from studios at Fish Island near Hackney Wick.

“There have been various anthropological studies of pre-industrial societies and one of the things the scientists noticed when they went to hunter-gatherer cultures was the amount of time that people spent not doing anything.

“It feels right now, when everything is being optimised, that there is very little time for not doing anything, despite the fact that everything has apparently been made more efficient so we all have more leisure time.

Marcus Lyall’s On Your Wavelength from Winter Lights 2017

“To me, it doesn’t feel like that.

“The question now is: ‘Are you spending your free time productively?’.

“With Idle Time, there are three elements connected to efficiency and productivity.

“Firstly there’s the backdrop – Canary Wharf – a global centre of hyper-capitalism, where companies dedicate every moment to trying to extract capital from labour.

“Secondly I’m using lasers, which are a hyper-efficient light source.

“You can use them in lots of ways, but here I’m using them like a big pen to draw and animate an image.

“With lasers you have the beam and a couple of mirrors that move at something like 30,000 times a second.

“Projecting 50 or 60 drawings per second lets the eye perceive the image as though it’s moving.

Artist Marcus Lyall – image by Matt Grayson

“Thirdly, I’m also working with motion capture technology where we have people act out various movements and use the data captured to drive the image.

“Normally this is done with dancers, acrobats, stunt people or physical theatre performers – subjects that are incredibly good at moving, so the data can be used to create animation sequences.

“It tends to be about capturing stuff that’s exceptional – actors performing the most amazing moves they can.

“What I’m doing with Idle Time is deliberately using people who aren’t terribly good at movement as my subjects – they’re mostly artists from the building I share in east London and they are doing things that are not terribly productive.

“One of the real pleasures of being an artist is that it’s not all about the effort you put in.

“A lot of it is about talking and thinking – stuff that’s difficult to quantify or capture.

“What I’m trying to do is celebrate the more mundane bits of life, the fact that most of our experience comes through incredibly subtle movement.

“Our experience of other people isn’t necessarily about them doing cartwheels.

“What’s interesting is that, when we’ve done tests on this work, people find these characters we’ve captured quite intriguing.

“Viewers immediately try to work out what they’re doing and then project characters onto them. It’s leaving a bit of a gap for the audience.”

Idle Time is one of 12 temporary installations that will pop up across the estate for Winter Lights 2024. The festival is set to run daily from 5pm-10pm and is free to visit.

Having seen around 1million visitors come to the estate for 2023, new one-way systems have been implemented to help manage numbers, with larger, more crowd-friendly pieces commissioned.

Alongside the visiting works, six permanent artworks will be illuminated for the show, including an LED twist on Shine Your Colours at Canary Riverside.

Marcus said: “It’s great that Canary Wharf Group is commissioning work and nice that they’re valuing art – it makes a difference.

“Idle Time is a bit more of a slow burn rather than a five-minute spectacular.

“Part of it is getting people to look at how they spend their time, getting people to question whether this constant drive for productivity is the best way to live their lives.

“I’m also hoping they feel some sort of empathy with the people they’re seeing, that there’s a connection with them, that they put themselves in those characters’ places.

“It’s very much about reflection and contemplation.

“There’s something nice about the fact that it’s projected onto a building that’s not in use yet – something that’s still going up.

“It also feels a little bit subversive to be doing a bit of graffiti with lasers in a part of the estate where people actually live.

“Sometimes this kind of work can be more for show, but this has been designed as something people can live with for a while.

“It’s ironic – I’m creating something in a hyper-efficient location with hyper-efficient projection technology and hyper-efficient motion capture, where my subjects are actually doing very little.”

The perfect antidote, perhaps, to the hustle and bustle of the Wharf – especially during the festival.

You can find out more about Winter Lights 2024 here

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 13, 2023December 15, 2023

Isle Of Dogs: How the Elizabeth School Of London is growing to serve more students

The institution offers a wide range of courses and has taken space at Harbour Exchange to host them

Professor Ian Luke of the Elizabeth School Of London

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The Elizabeth School Of London (ESL) is enjoying something of a boom.

A higher education provider, which delivers a range of courses on behalf of various institutions, it’s expanded to seven sites across the country supporting some 9,500 students.

Its operation includes campuses in Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester and Northampton as well as two in London.

Alongside its Holborn site, ESL recently moved into Harbour Exchange on the Isle Of Dogs with a second floor of the building already in the pipeline.

For the institution’s provost, Professor Ian Luke, himself a recent arrival, it’s a time of great opportunity for the organisation.

“The exciting part of ESL is that it’s in its infancy, so what I would like to see is it pushing the boundaries of teaching and giving students authentic experiences so they can immediately use what they’ve learnt in their careers or even during their time with us,” he said.

“Canary Wharf is an inspiring place, especially if you’re working in the sectors covered by our courses.

“The fact that students are working around multi-million pound companies, and we are creating links with those firms, is very special.”

ESL has a growing campus at Harbour Exchange on the Isle Of Dogs

ESL provides teaching and facilities on behalf of a number of organisations that act as awarding bodies on its courses.

These include Bath Spa University, St Mary’s University in Twickenham, Canterbury Christ Church University, the University Of Bolton and Newcastle College Group.

It offers courses in the areas of business and management; finance and accounting; health and social care; construction and computing, attracting many students seeking a change of direction.

“We currently have about 9,500 students,” said Ian.

“Many are mature students who are looking to make a career change or who higher education may have passed by.

“For ESL, it’s all about providing access to opportunity.

“The joy of our system is that we haven’t got the infrastructural arrangements of a university.

“Most universities engage in research. But generally they will only receive at best 75% funding for those activities.

“We’re not a research institution, although we’re very much about scholarly research-informed teaching.

“That means all our resources can be focused on the students themselves rather than anything else – hence the investment in campuses such as Harbour Exchange.

The campus is arranged over one floor, with a second in the pipeline

“While many universities have fixed locations, ESL has the flexibility to go where its services are needed.

“The benefit to the student experience is incredibly positive and, for the partners we work with, it means they don’t have to invest in a new campus themselves in these locations.”

Part of Planet Education Networks, a collection of institutions based at Marsh Wall, ESL’s expansion has seen a whole floor of Harbour Exchange’s main building fully refurbished.

“There are IT suites, media rooms, lecture rooms, a canteen, break-out areas and even a Dragons’ Den-style pitching area,” said Ian.

“The whole place has been designed for the students to have fluidity in physical and digital resources.

“Because we’re not trapped in campus buildings, we’ve been able to design this new facility for the way we want to teach students.

“One of the key things for us is that we’ve designed the actual timetable to support people.

“We understand that there’s a cost of living crisis and that many students have to work while they’re studying – we understand that they’re got care responsibilities.

“That’s why we operate over six days.

“Students get very focused work so they can manage their parental and other commitments.

“We also deliver evening and weekend sessions, so we try to make the timetable as bespoke for them as possible.

“What we’re delivering in terms of pedagogy is different to a university, in that we’re trying to tailor everything to an understanding of students’ lives, and more importantly, to their careers and employability afterwards.

“We know our students very, very well – who they are – and when that’s the case, you can cater for their needs.

“ESL is really about people who want to change their lives, and we’ve got the flexibility to help them do that.

“It’s crucial for us to be able to move with our students so we can offer something bespoke.”

This is all very much in Ian’s wheelhouse.

“With an academic and professional background in education, it’s no surprise he’s decided to join an institution where the importance of teaching is stated as a core value.

“I was deputy vice-chancellor at Plymouth Marjon University, a very small organisation down in the south-west, and I looked after everything there, apart from research – the academic schools, the quality of the teaching and the digital development,” he said.

“London is a complete shift for me, but I was a teacher and my PhD and professorial were in learning and teaching so I’m hoping to bring that to ESL.

“I have an understanding of quality systems and how they work, and how to make them more robust.

“There’s something incredible happening here with ESL – there’s a very big demand for what it’s doing – and it’s very successful.

ESL boasts extensive facilities close to Canary Wharf

“The focus is heavily on the students – they want to come – so it’s up to us to manage that growth well for them.

“The joy of multiple institution awarding is that you get the best practice from everyone, and you can make sure that we represent the programmes.

“In doing so, we try to serve the community, individuals and their careers.

“We get a whole range of people coming to study with us – they are multicultural, often older and may be returning to higher education.

“ESL is rigorous in terms of the students it accepts to ensure we are recruiting people we think we can support appropriately.

“Because the students are more mature, there is an engagement level here that not all universities experience.

“The staff are very passionate and the students really want to make the most of these opportunities.

“It’s very inspiring for me in my role to see how they are working to grasp those at ESL.”

Typical yearly fees at ESL are £9,250.

Find more information about the Elizabeth School Of London here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 13, 2023December 18, 2023

Elizabeth Line: How Candace Bushnell is set to bring her show to The London Palladium

Author will perform True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex And The City in February 2024 for one night

Sex And The City author Candace Bushnell is coming to London

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BY JESS MADDISON

Are you a true Sex And The City fan?

Ever wondered how it all started?

Now’s your chance to find out. Carrie Bradshaw is coming to the UK. Not Sarah Jessica Parker, but author Candace Bushnell.

Candace published Sex And The City – a book of of her newspaper columns from The New York Observer – in 1996, which went on to inspire the TV series of the same name.

More recently, spin-off series And Just Like That has been hitting the headlines, with Parker’s Carrie once more at the heart of the action.

Candace, however, is set to bring one-woman-show, True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex And The City to London on February 7 and I, for one, cannot wait.

Candace is based in New York (of course) so we meet via Zoom when, even at 9am, she looks fabulous – all perfect hair and freshly applied makeup.

I’m so excited that I’m wearing high heel shoes in my living room for a video call.

“In a lot of ways, the show is the origin story of Sex And The City,” she said.

“It’s about how I wrote the columns, how hard I worked to get there, why I invented Carrie Bradshaw and what happened to me after.

“I also answer some people’s burning questions like: ‘Was there a real Mr Big?’ and: ‘Do I really have a shoe fetish like Carrie Bradshaw?’

“I also talk about my Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha – we play a little game, Real Or Not Real, because there’s so much that happened in the TV show that’s better or worse than my actual life.

Candace is set to perform her one woman show at The London Palladium

“It’s true stories of sex, success and Sex And The City. So it’s mixed in with my life story – how I came to New York – plus a couple of little naughty sex stories.”

The show will be on tour in the UK in February 2024, with one night at The London Palladium – a short hop from Canary Wharf on the Elizabeth Line via Tottenham Court Road.

“In some ways performing is easier than writing novels, which is probably one of the hardest things that anybody can do,” said Candace, who has published nine books.

“Writing is something you have to do on your own – you’ve got to come up with something new every day to keep the story moving.

“You have different characters, the story and the dialogue – you have to know what’s going to happen at the end and what’s happened at the beginning.

“Performing is very physical. You’re doing the same thing, pretty much every time. It’s choreographed in some ways and you’re interacting with the audience and bouncing off them.

“I’m always trying to improve a little – deliver that line a bit better.

“This means sometimes you get the laugh and sometimes you don’t – sometimes you mess up a little bit.

“But it’s a pretty exciting thing to do – it really is – and people are really complimentary afterwards, which is nice.

“I love doing it and I’m so excited to bring the show to the UK.”

At this point Candace’s poodle wakes up from where she has been sleeping on the bed and starts barking, momentarily interrupting the interview.

“She’s such a sweet little girl,” said Candace, returning to her thought with barely a breath.

“I love England. I’ve come to the UK so many times, on every book tour, and I have friends who live there.

“I had a boyfriend there, so I used to go back and forth a lot really and I love it.”

If you are unfamiliar with Candace’s work outside of Sex And The City, it includes Lipstick Jungle and The Carrie Diaries, both of which had their own TV adaptations.

“I really felt like Lipstick Jungle was the next phase of women that I observed” she said.

“Sex And The City was all about being in your 30s, Lipstick Jungle is about being in your 40s, starting a family and really working on your business.

The show features tales of her past and reveals some secrets

“New York City is a place where there are a lot of successful women and it’s a place where women really can have a big career.

“One of the things that I noticed was how women bond together and have each other’s backs in business.

“I absolutely loved the TV version, which ran for two seasons.”

So what advice would she have for women looking to make their way in the world today?

“The advice I would give is that it’s really important for women to have careers – to work hard, it’s like: ‘Make the money’.” said Candace.

“That’s something that’s really important because money matters – a lot.

“The older you get the more important it is.

“When you’re in your 20s you’re like: ‘Oh money it’s not so important’. When you get older, it’s really important.

“That’s something I would really encourage in women – to think about their finances and to put money into a retirement fund.

“You know, maybe don’t buy that really expensive handbag.”

Candace pauses, but only momentarily. “Shoes,” she said.

“It’s okay to buy them. They’re not as expensive as handbags.”

Candace’s books always feature New York and often address the theme of feminism, whether this is women and their relationships with men, women in marriage or women in business.

“I get asked about feminism quite a bit,” she said.

“I talk about it a little bit in my show and I am a feminist. That seems to be in some ways sort of a dirty word.

“I don’t think people really understand what it’s about.

“But I think it’s really about being a self-actualised person, not being dependent on a man and being able to think outside of the box, where the patriarchy is concerned.

“So I think it’s incredibly important for women to have their own money and make their own living and not just have to access to an income stream through a man, which is traditionally how we have gotten money for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

“It’s about education, the ability to earn your own money, to make your own life and to be able to say no.”

On the front page of my own battered copy of Sex And The City, there is a quote from Bridget Jones’ Diary author, Helen Fielding, branding it “Intriguing and highly entertaining”.

Does Candace think Carrie Bradshaw would have gotten along well with Fielding’s central character?

“I don’t know why not,” she said. “It’s interesting because I think Bridget Jones is pretty much from the same time I was writing Sex And The City.

“I remember when I came to England – I guess it was 1996 or maybe 1997 – I was flying back to the States and my publisher gave me Helen’s book to read on the plane from London to New York.

Candace says making money is really important for young women

“I thought it was just terrific. It really captured what life was like at that moment for women – the stresses and the pressures – how we’re all trying to be perfect, to be better and to control our weight, our drinking and our love lives.

“But really, we have no control.”

Candace began performing her one-woman-show in 2021, in her 60s, and has played dates at dozens of venues with a run of 13 in the UK for this tour. But where does she see herself in the next five or 10 years?

“I might do another show,” she said.

“But you know, at my age, who knows? Who knows if I’ll still be here?

“I’m 65 and, when you get to be my age, you see that people age in very different ways, so I don’t know.

“I have friends who are 70, who work and they have really vibrant lives.

“But there are other people who are 70 and it’s like they’re 80 – so you just don’t know.

“Unfortunately, my mother got cancer and died by the time she was 70.

“So you can make the 10-year-plan but the reality is that you really don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s why it’s so important for young women to take action now.

“It’s like: ‘Make the money, get that money’. That’s the most important thing, I’m telling you.”

Candace’s Bushnell’s True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex And The City is set to be performed at The London Palladium at 7.30pm on February 7.

Tickets range from £38 to £113, which includes a meet-and-greet with the woman herself.

For more about Candace Bushnell’s show or to book tickets, click here

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- Jess Maddison is co-founder of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jess.maddison@wharf-life.com

December 1, 2023December 6, 2023

St Katharine Docks: How Dockside Vaults delivers premium event space underground

Former Medieval banqueting experience has been reimagined as a blank canvas for all kinds of uses

Dockside Vaults is located at Ivory House in St Katharine Docks

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The legacy of global trade has left its mark across east London in vast spaces created to handle the wealth of cargo that once flowed up the Thames.

There were huge docks to safely berth the ships, wharves to unload them and warehouses to store and protect the goods and commodities.

The ongoing regeneration of Docklands has seen this infrastructure repurposed in myriad ways – as housing, accommodation for yachts, bars, hotels, restaurants, watersports centres and many more.

With many of the spaces being of a significant size and well connected to the rest of London, several have been reimagined as events venues.

The latest of these to launch is Dockside Vaults, a 10,000sq ft underground space beneath Ivory House in St Katharine Docks.

Built in 1852, the building is the only original warehouse still standing in the area and is today filled with residential apartments and restaurants at ground level.

Apt, perhaps, that its brick vaulted basement, which was once used to store imported barrels of wine is once again being used for hospitality and entertaining, having been the site of a Henry VIII-themed Medieval banqueting experience for decades.

“Funnily enough they were doing an immersive show long before the likes of Secret Cinema and those theatre concepts,” said Ben Gamble.

“The banqueting started in the 1970s with a fine dining, silver service dinner – but by the time it closed it certainly wasn’t that.

“It had become a tourist trap – all you could eat and drink for £30.”

SPECIAL OFFER - 50% OFF VENUE HIRE
Dockside Vaults is offering Wharf Life readers 50% off venue hire for events of 50 to 450 people that are booked and held before the end of 2023 – perfect for last-minute festive celebrations. The venue still has some availability before Christmas 2023. T&Cs apply. 

Go to docksidevaults.com for more information or to book

The space, however, was what interested Ben.

Having initially locked on to a career as a fighter pilot with the RAF, a shortage of training places prompted a rethink and he fell into the events industry after landing a job with the London Film Museum, having hawked his CV around the capital in search of gainful employment.

After establishing it as a venue for corporate shindigs at County Hall on the banks of the Thames, he left to start his own events business shortly after its relocation to Covent Garden.

“Having been involved with the owners to launch that and at a point I was just about to be earning good money, I handed in my resignation to start by own business,” he said.

“During my time at the museum I’d met a lot of events companies and had realised they were the ones with the big clients, big budgets.

“It seemed, as venue finders, all they would do is come round with the client and talk about the blooming obvious, which of course is not how it is at all.

“But I’d built up enough contacts, spoken to a few of them and told them I was thinking of doing my own thing.

“I asked them if they would trust me to find their venues.

“So that was the initial idea – it seemed like there was a gap in the market.

“I realised that everyone had been everywhere, so there was a need for a company that specialised in finding venues that had never been used before.

“So that’s what I did for seven years and then the pandemic shut down the industry.”

His company, Shout About London, worked across the capital often as a pioneer at venues such as Southwark Cathedral, the Archbishop Of Canterbury’s private library and at the Leadenhall Building, making a point of aiming to be the first company to bring clients into a space.

Gradually the business shifted to representing venues for longer periods of time and working with well-known institutions such as the V&A to create events around new exhibitions or attractions.

The evolution continued as Ben’s firm shifted into creative production and wound up managing several venues exclusively in the run-up to Covid.

“I actually signed a lease with a nightclub in January 2020 in London Fields, which was bad timing for me – it’s no longer there,” he said.

“Then the pandemic happened, so I went to UCL and did an MBA for two years.

“With hindsight, it was a perfect use of my time as I’ve been able to employ that knowledge in my new events and venue consultancy Nylon Pie, and now Dockside.”

The 450-capacity venue opened in September and features 10 alcoves all joined by an expansive central concourse, which can be used for events with 50 guests or more.

The venue is a blank canvas for clients to use

“I first saw the venue when I started Nylon Pie and I really liked the space,” said Ben.

“It was still full of mediaeval gear for the banquets so it needed emptying and modernising. Now it’s 10,000sq ft of premium event space with 150-year-old exposed brickwork.

“Tower Hill is synonymous with the old and the new – you have the Tower Of London and Tower Bridge with The Shard in the background.

“We’re from the same period as Tobacco Dock but we’ve got large TVs at the end of each of our alcoves and lighting where the colours can be changed at the touch of a button.

“Having great audio and visual tech is important and we have in-house microphones if people want to do speeches, too.

“The idea is that everything is plug-in and play.

“Of course, if you’ve got a big budget, we can do projection mapping on the brickwork and go all out – but if you don’t, we can operate on a minimum spend basis at the bar.

“We’re a cashless venue, but we’re also the largest venue in London to take payment in Bitcoin.

“So far we’ve done about 20 events including screenings of things like the Rugby World Cup – we had 450 South Africans here for the final.

“First and foremost we’re a corporate events space, however, and we’ve worked with Identify – one of the best events management companies in the UK – on a two-day conference.

“That showed a good use of the space, for smaller immersive events with 150 to 200 people.

“The alcoves can be used as breakout spaces and can easily be given a personal touch with branding, signs or logos.

“We’re also keen to be a part of the local community – not a closed door – and we’d love people to get in touch.”

Find out more about Dockside Vaults here

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com

December 1, 2023December 1, 2023

Old Kent Road: How The BeCa at Ruby Triangle aims to attract first-time buyers

Developer Avanton intends to maximise value for a domestic audience at its south-east London block

An artist’s impression of The BeCa in South Bermondsey

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“Value” is the topic on the lips of David Ronson, sales and marketing director at Avanton.

We’re talking about The BeCa, the first phase of the developer’s Ruby Triangle scheme, located in South Bermondsey just off the Old Kent Road.

This £150million red brick-clad structure takes its name and inspiration from the former industrial buildings of New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood – also the reason why it’s pronounced “becca” rather than “beaker”.

The 170 apartments available for private sale within, form part of the 1,400 homes that Avanton is set to build on the five-acre site.

It’s located around 22 minutes from Canary Wharf via bus and the Jubilee line from Canada Water, but could also be on the Tube if the mooted Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham is approved.

It’s a tough time for buyers and those selling property at the moment.

The cost of living crisis and high mortgage rates present a challenging landscape to those keen to get on the ladder and those servicing that market.

The BeCa is inspired by converted industrial buildings in New York

As a counterweight, Avanton has come up with London @Last, a three-part package of incentives aimed at first-time buyers to encourage them to purchase a home at The BeCa.

“We’re concerned with the domestic market because you want to build a place that has a community in it – somewhere that has a soul,” said David.

“If you sell everything to overseas investors, it has only transient tenants living there.

“Our Coda scheme in Battersea is rated as one of the best places to live in south-west London and that’s because it has a community of owner-occupiers.

“That’s what we want to do with all our developments.

“Typically first-time buyers are at a disadvantage when it comes to buying off-plan.

“The least expensive units typically offer the best rental yield for investors to pick up.

“But prospective owner-occupiers, especially those feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis are not in a position to tie up money for long periods of time without the ability to access it.

“With some developers, that could be as much as 25% of the purchase price and that’s one of the reasons we’ve created London @ Last.”

One and two-bedroom apartments are available at the scheme

The incentives on offer are threefold, amounting to a possible £40,000 saving on a property.

Firstly, first-time buyers can exchange on a property with a 5% deposit under the scheme.

Secondly, Avanton will put in a further 5% and cover legal fees for buyers using its recommended solicitor.

This allows purchasers to take out 90% mortgages on the property rather than 95%.

Thirdly, the developer says it will guarantee a 4.99% interest-only mortgage for a year.

With rates coming down in any case, it will also likely reassess this to ensure it remains competitive.

Avanton will also pay 10% interest per year on deposit money it is holding, payable on completion.

“If your circumstances change prior to completion, we’ll give you back your money,” said David.

“If not, we’ll pay you better than a bank to hold the money for you and we’re only taking 5% as a deposit.

“It gives you the flex that, if something does happen, you have the ability to step out of the contract.”

An artist’s impression of a kitchen at The BeCa

With starting prices for one-beds at £450,000 and two-beds at £585,000, the package presents the possibility of significant savings on the initial cost of buying a home.

Avanton, however, isn’t only about deals in the short-term.

David said the design of The BeCa had taken into consideration what residents actually wanted from a home rather than stuffing it full of facilities they may not want to use or pay for through their service charge.

“We’ve been very conscious on this scheme regarding people’s affordability,” he said. “Some developers put in too many residential amenities within a block.

“We’re a little bit different. We look at what the key essentials are for people.

“At Coda, for example, we have some flexible workspace, meeting rooms, a small gym and a 24-hour concierge service as well as two podium gardens.

“We completed these and the service charge has now come in at about £6 per sq ft.

“If you look at the south-west market, that’s quite affordable in contrast to some developments with all the amenities under the sun, and the charge is around £13.

“If, before you’re even looking at the mortgage, you’re being hit with £10,000 of service charge a year, your average domestic buyer can’t afford it.

Many apartments will feature views over the London skyline

“That’s why some developments are primarily bought by investors from overseas who rent out these properties to transient tenants.

“It’s one of the reasons 80% of our Coda scheme was sold to owner-occupiers who want to live there and not feel like they are being charged for amenities they are not actually going to be using.

“This can be a deterrent for people considering buying into a scheme.

“With The BeCa, we’ve ensured the service charge is as low as it possibly can be.

“We’re looking at £4.27 per sq ft and that will have a day porter, about 2,000sq ft of flexible workspace and residents’ access to three roof terraces.

“In the current market, you have to look at specific locations where buyers can see real capital appreciation. Old Kent Road is the cheapest place you can buy in Zone 2.

“Ultimately Ruby Triangle will become an extension of London Bridge and Bermondsey, where you have some of the best lifestyle amenities in London.

“As the whole wider South Bermondsey regeneration takes place, you’ll see 20,000 new homes, 10,000 jobs, it’s going to change the place massively.”

Even with all that change, Avanton is also addressing any concerns about connectivity with a further incentive.

It’s offering buyers a free electric bike on completion, or the cash equivalent off the purchase.

Find out more about The BeCa here

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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com