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Voda UK staff in Newbury "won't see the boss much" as Colao moves to London

Vodafone's top brass is relocating to London, in a move that apparently has nothing to do with not liking Newbury and everything to do with being closer to business partners and shareholders.

The Chief Executive Officer, Vittorio Colao, will be relocating along with 200 of his entourage in a move the company told us was part of a "dual-location HQ" strategy, that will, by coincidence, reduce the commuting time for Mr. Colao considerably.

Not that the CEO spends a lot of time in Newbury anyway - as Andrew Parker reports - Mr. Colao often uses the Company's offices in Park Lane, though he'll have to make the trek to Paddington in future as that's where the non-Newbury part of the HQ will henceforth be based.

Parker added:

Vodafone identified Newbury as a suitable place for its HQ when it was spun out of Racal Electronics in 1991. The HQ was less than glamorous, given its location next to a curry house, and Vodafone used to occupy more than 60 buildings scattered across the town.

In 2003, Vodafone opened a purpose-built HQ on the outskirts of Newbury. Arun Sarin, Mr Colao's predecessor, compared the campus with buildings in Silicon Valley.

Vodafone opened its Paddington office in December in a large complex close to the railway station, and it was initially occupied by staff responsible for marketing and the development of mobile internet services.

At least Paddington should be less prone to flooding than the Newbury office, but given the number of people laid off from the offices over the last year or so it's hard to imagine the move is down to a lack of office space.

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