The Project

The PBC Project Management Team was appointed to manage the fit out of a new London office for leading international brokering, banking and financial adviser Charles Schwab, U.K., Ltd.

Having moved out of their previous London base in 2015 into temporary accommodation, as soon as the new 5,000sqft Ludgate Hill office was acquired in December 2016, the company wanted to move the project forward at speed. PBC was therefore tasked with managing the fit-out project for the new self-contained ground and lower ground floor offices to CAT A and CAT B standard in just 18 weeks.

PBC Scope

As the entire project was directed by a team based in the Regional Office of Charles Schwab in New York, this added a new challenge to the work with all client, contractor and project management meetings having to take place by conference call.   Different time zones had to be taken into consideration, which required the project teams to schedule appropriate meeting times and adjust working hours accordingly.

To ensure the 18-week timescale was met, PBC recommended a turnkey design and build procurement route. In addition to this, with UK specifications being different to those of the US, the PBC team worked very closely with the appointed contractor Morgan Lovell, to ensure the fit-out met UK planning and building regulation requirements.

As the new office space was supplied as a shell, the fit-out included installing new heating and cooling systems, a new passenger lift, decoration, joinery, flooring, illuminated signage and glazed partitions and doors for the offices.  All WCs were completely refurbished, a new disabled toilet was added and the stylish new reception area was fitted with a bespoke reception desk.

The Challenges

Despite the differences in time zones, technical specifications and the speed of the project, all of the challenges and deadlines were met by the project management team at PBC and at Morgan Lovell, and the London office of Charles Schwab is now open for business.

Commenting on the project, Kemo Crawford, Senior Project Manager at Charles Schwab & Co Inc said: “With one team based in the US and the other in the UK, the logistics of managing the fit-out of our new office in London could have been complex.  However, careful planning and project management by the team at PBC ensured that, despite the difference in time zones and the different specifications required in the UK, everything ran very smoothly.  Many thanks to everyone involved.”