Smart, flexible workspace in the heart of London - The Hickman sets Great Portland’s tone
18.06.2026 - 16:58:28 | ad-hoc-news.de
Reviewed: ad hoc news Software & Services desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-18, 16:53. Details in the imprint.
The Hickman at 2-12 Whitechapel Road is Great Portland’s answer to what a plugged-in London office should feel like, with brick, light and code working together the moment you badge in with your phone.
Background on the Great Portland Estates plc share
How Great Portland is repositioning its London portfolio around tech-enabled, sustainable offices like The Hickman also matters for long-term investors.
How The Hickman is set up
Walk into The Hickman and it feels more like a calm, industrial loft than a corporate lobby, with exposed brick, high ceilings and daylight pushed deep into the floorplates through large sash-style windows.
Great Portland pitches the building at around 75,300 sq ft of office space, plus terraces and shared areas, aimed at tenants that want character but also fully modern plant and digital infrastructure.
Smart features behind the calm
The Hickman is one of Great Portland’s most connected buildings, using its smart workplace app Sesame to let occupiers open doors, book meeting rooms and view building information from their phones.
Plant, lighting and access systems feed data into a central platform, giving building managers a live view of how space is used and where energy can be trimmed without bothering teams at work.
Where tenants feel the difference
On a typical floor, desks are already cabled, Wi-Fi is dense and power points sit where you actually drop your laptop, so fit-out time for new tenants is shorter than in a blank-slab office.
Informal corners, soft seating and roof terraces are there to catch quick one-to-ones or a breath of air, so the building suits hybrid teams drifting in and out across the week.
Sustainability and certifications
The Hickman targets strong sustainability credentials, including BREEAM Excellent and an EPC rating in the A range, thanks to high-efficiency services, LED lighting and careful fabric upgrades to the existing structure.
Reusing the original frame and façade reduces embodied carbon compared with a full new build, which matters for tenants with their own net-zero reporting pressure.
The Whitechapel location factor
Location is a big part of the story, with The Hickman sitting moments from Whitechapel station for the Elizabeth line, Overground and District lines, cutting journey times across London sharply.
The neighborhood mixes long-time East End residents with new residential and life-sciences schemes, so the area around the building feels busy into the evening, not just at office rush hour.
How it fits Great Portland’s strategy
For Great Portland, The Hickman is a proof point that mid-sized, tech-enabled, character buildings can attract modern tenants just as strongly as glass towers, provided connectivity, comfort and sustainability are all dialled in.
Bottom line, Great Portland Estates plc (GB00B01FLL16) is listed in London, giving investors direct exposure to assets such as The Hickman in its central London-focused portfolio.
Key facts on The Hickman
- Product: The Hickman, 2-12 Whitechapel Road
- Manufacturer: Great Portland Estates plc
- Category: Software/Service/Subscription (smart-enabled office)
- Launch: Refurbishment completed and relaunched around 2020
- RRP / Price: Letting on commercial terms, rent by negotiation
- Availability: Leasing opportunities via Great Portland in the London Whitechapel market
- Target group: SMEs and larger tenants seeking tech-enabled, characterful central London workspace
- Highlight / USP: Deep integration of Sesame smart-building tech in a light, character warehouse conversion
This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.
