Tea Building, a Shoreditch landmark, was built in 1930's as a factory for Allied Foods' Lipton brand.
It’s an eight-storey building on the junction of Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, which was originally used for curing bacon and later became a tea warehouse.
The building was redeveloped by Derwent London in 2001 and is now one of the biggest creative industry hubs in the capital. Hive were very pleased to be appointed as the incumbent cleaning provider in the summer of 2018 and also now clean for many of the occupying tenants.
Hive Cleaning’s MD, Louis Beaumont has a special connection to this building and here is his story:
“It was late 2001 and I had just come back from an 18 month round the world expedition. I applied for a position as a building manager with a REIT called Derwent London. I got the job and started straight away, working with a lovely guy called Stuart Macintosh. We had a great rapport and it was a brilliant project to work on.
I remember one day, an artist called Richard Tate came to the building and asked if he could take a photo from the roof. He was an architectural artist and was looking for new ideas for London cityscapes. We didn’t normally allow that sort of thing, but he seemed such a interesting and nice guy I took him up to the roof. We started talking and have maintained a friendship ever since. He is currently the artist in residence for The Worshipful Company of Painters.
About a year or so later, I was asked to help start up a new Derwent London building in Hatton Garden.
I was so enamoured with the Tea Building, that I commissioned Richard to paint the building and it’s been hanging on my dining room wall ever since.
Years passed, I moved on to work for a commercial cleaning company and now I’m lucky enough to own Hive Cleaning.
By an amazing turn of fate Hive were recently awarded the contract to clean the Tea Building. It is wonderful to return to a building that helped me to be where I am today.
I love its charm, the people and its history and I hope our relationship will continue for many years to come.”
