RCVS moves into new Hardwick Street office

Reception desk with RCVS coat of arms behind

The renovation and refurbishment of our new head office is now complete.

Based in Clerkenwell, central London, the six-floor building was originally a warehouse built in approximately 1929. Over the years it has been home to a range of businesses from leather manufacturers and papers makers to lithographic plate makers and shoe upping manufacturers, before becoming an office space.

The building cost £22.3m and was fully tenanted when we purchased it in 2022, with £1.4m in rental income generated between 2022 and 2023. Once the premises were vacated and planning permissions were obtained, work to convert the building into a space suitable for a royal college - with multiple uses for the veterinary professions, stakeholders and RCVS and RCVS Knowledge staff - began in June 2024.

Since then, work continued apace to create a working environment to suit organisational development and flexible working arrangements, and which supports our strategic ambitions to work collaboratively with those with a stake in animal health and welfare, and public health.

Where possible, pre-existing assets and equipment have been reused, including lighting, meeting pods, a large kitchen, lockers, bleachers and toilets. The works included new air conditioning, internal stairs for fire safety purposes, a new accessible front entrance, a larger lift cage, as well as internal decoration, flooring, new furniture, audio visual equipment and meeting rooms. The works have come in at the higher end of the budget agreed by RCVS Council at £5.8m excluding VAT and the figures are still subject to audit.

As well as dedicated working floors for staff (one of which is dog friendly) the building also provides:

• Dedicated space and facilities for visiting MsRCVS and RVNs,
• Adaptable meeting rooms to support Council and committee work,
• Additional meeting rooms to suit in-person and hybrid working,
• Video conferencing facilities,
• Private booths for remote meetings and calls,
• Breakout areas for informal meetings and collaborative working,
• An event space with catering facilities,
• The RCVS Knowledge Library & Information Service and heritage collection,
• Multi-faith and wellbeing rooms for visitors and staff, and
• A small recording studio for webinars, podcasts and interviews.
   

In addition to making the space fit-for-purpose in line with our strategic ambitions, the building has also been designed to reflect our commitment to sustainability, with features such as recycled materials, repurposed fittings, a revised procurement policy, and solar panels. From the outset of the project, the development criteria required that full use should be made of all opportunities to reduce or minimise the impact that the redevelopment imposed on the environment, as far as was reasonably practicable.

Last week (week commencing Monday 19 May 2025), RCVS staff officially moved into the building, with regular RCVS meetings and events, as well as Disciplinary Committee hearings, set to take place at the new premises from now on. The first RCVS Council meeting to be held at the Hardwick Street office will take place on Thursday 5 June 2025.

Event space, lower ground floor

RCVS CEO, Lizzie Lockett, said: "After a few years in a rented co-working office space, we’re delighted to have moved into our new home, designed not only to meet the needs of College staff, but to support the broader ambitions of the RCVS as a whole.

"Our new strategic plan has collaboration at its heart – the idea of being stronger through working together – and our new building will help us to achieve that."

"Our new strategic plan has collaboration at its heart – the idea of being stronger through working together – and our new building will help us to achieve that.

"Whether attending events, exploring RCVS Knowledge’s archives, using the members' area and meeting rooms, or benefitting from the outputs that the new space enables, the building has been developed with members and associates as a central focus."

RCVS President, Linda Belton, added: "It’s great to see what’s been achieved through this project and my thanks go to the team who have managed the refurbishment and move.

"The new premises are equipped to ensure that the voice of the veterinary professions remains integral in assuring animal health, welfare, and public health in the UK, allowing for those all-important stakeholder conversations essential to setting, upholding and advancing veterinary standards.

"We look forward to welcoming members, associates, students and stakeholders alike in the coming months and years."

For more pictures of the building, please visit our public photo album on Flickr.

Reading area in reception