Maples Group Moves to New London Office with a focus on Clients, People and Collaboration

The Maples Group, a market-leading provider of legal, fiduciary and fund services, has relocated its London office to 280 Bishopsgate, a newly refurbished state-of-the-art building with the highest ratings for sustainability and wellbeing.  The move reflects the Group's commitment to supporting its clients and its people in a changing world, as well as its strong growth in the UK market.

The new office is designed to be the best possible workplace for the hybrid-working era and combines ample spaces to focus, collaborate and build community.  It features a range of working spaces including, open plan desks, private focus rooms, meeting rooms with the latest videoconferencing technology to enable effective hybrid meetings, and social spaces including a barista bar and a 6,000 square foot roof terrace.

The building was also designed with sustainability and wellbeing in mind.  With the highest possible ratings for both_¹, it features plentiful urban green space, outdoor terraces, a wellness suite and superior cycling facilities for those who like to clear their head or keep fit on two wheels.  In addition to being one of the most energy-efficient office buildings in London, the building’s refurbishment, rather than a total rebuild, retained the original structural frame.  This delivered an embodied carbon saving of more than 24,000 tons – the equivalent of 120 acres of deforestation.

Commenting on the new offices, Heidi de Vries, London Managing Partner said, "We are excited to be moving into a new workplace as the Maples Group embarks on our next phase of growth, having built-up from a small team in London to almost 120, and with almost 300 people in the UK as a whole.  This is an important market for us and I'm hugely proud of how we have contributed to the success of our clients, the law firms we work alongside, and the wider City of London."

Heidi continues, "After consulting with our colleagues, we have designed an office that puts both people and planet at the heart of our thinking.  We have invested in the latest workspace technology and communal spaces that will foster an environment of collaboration and creativity.

"At the same time, it is important to us that our workplace is accessible and inclusive for everyone.  We will have ample quiet areas to accommodate work or individuals that require it.   Our designers have carefully considered the smallest details, from choosing sound-absorbing materials to icons on our cupboards, to cater to the range of neurodiversity in the workforce."

"Sustainability was also a primary driving factor in choosing this location and the move will enable us to strengthen our ESG commitments and practices."

The Maples Group's London office is part of a global, integrated team of nearly 3,000 people across 16 offices worldwide.  Together, they offer clients access to legal advice on the laws of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Jersey and Luxembourg, as well as fiduciary, fund, regulatory and compliance, and entity formation and management services in time zones suitable to their needs.  

Speaking to the Maples Group's offering, Sam Ellis, Senior Vice President, and Head of Fiduciary Services in London, added, "London is a strategic priority for the Maples Group.  Our presence here enables us to provide seamless, time-sensitive services to our clients in this leading financial centre by bringing together the best of our capabilities from around the world. 

"The new office location will foster even better collaboration not only within our London teams, but also with our colleagues around the world so that we can continue delivering innovative, tailored fund, fiduciary and legal services to the world's leading global financial institutions, international corporations, asset managers and institutional investors."

The Maples Group in London has been involved in a number of landmark transactions recently for both new and existing clients, including the SPAC merger that saw FC Barcelona's media division start trading on the Nasdaq, Liberty Costa Rica Senior Secured Finance's digital infrastructure Sustainability-Linked Bond, and the US$135m SPAC combination that saw Canadian gene therapy biotech enGene start trading on Nasdaq.

^{1. BREEAM Outstanding - highest available rating for building sustainability; WELL Core V2 Platinum  - highest available rating for the impact of a building's environment on health and wellbeing; CyclingScore Platinum  - highest available rating for cycle friendliness.}