Amazon opens new London office on the doorstep of Shakespeare’s lost theatre
Key Points
- Amazon has opened a third building at its Shoreditch headquarters, taking the London campus to around 6,000 employees.
- The new building sits near the site of the Curtain Theatre, where Shakespeare's company performed before the Globe.
- Archaeological finds from the construction dig inspired design details including patterned glazing and bird-shaped light fittings.
- The expansion forms part of Amazon's £40 billion UK investment plan, of which more than £15 billion has been delivered.
Amazon has opened a third building at its London headquarters in Shoreditch, expanding a campus that now houses around 6,000 employees working on the company’s products and technology.
The new building sits near the site of the Curtain Theatre, the Elizabethan playhouse where Shakespeare’s company performed before the Globe was built.
During construction, archaeologists uncovered artefacts from the theatre’s history, and Amazon has woven that heritage into the office’s design.
The building features patterned glazing showing flora and fauna drawn from Shakespeare’s plays, while bird-shaped light fittings take their inspiration from a whistle found during the dig.
The expanded Hackney campus includes more than 140 collaboration spaces designed for teams to work together.
The opening forms part of a wider year of investment by Amazon in the UK. The company committed £40 billion to the country between 2025 and 2027, its largest investment outside the US, and said it has already delivered more than £15 billion.
Alongside the London expansion, Amazon has opened a new fulfilment centre in Northampton, confirmed a second £500 million site in Kettering, and opened a global tech headquarters in Swansea for its Veeqo business, with more than £150 million committed to the Welsh site through to 2032.
“A year ago we said we planned to invest £40 billion in the UK. Today you can see what that means; from 4,000 jobs in Northamptonshire and 2,000 in Hull, to drone deliveries from Darlington and a new tech HQ in Swansea,” said Amazon UK country manager John Boumphrey.
Amazon employs around 75,000 permanent staff across more than 100 UK sites.
