The NCVO is building a fourth floor on the top of its King’s Cross headquarters to develop a sector ‘hub’ that will accommodate other charities.

The new floor will create 440sqm of additional space to be used as an accessible hub and meeting place.  It will cost around £2m and is projected to increase the value of the canalside building by the same amount.

Work is due to finish towards the end of next year. NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington said the intention is to rent the space to charities at market rates.  “The number of charities housed will depend upon demand – we will be able to offer discrete space for larger organisations through to a few hotdesks for smaller ones.

“We feel that in an environment where collaborative working is increasingly important, there is much benefit to be derived from like-minded organisations sharing the same space and possibly back-office services.”

Like many charities, NCVO has been examining ways to earn more of its income instead of relying on grants.  Its strategic funding from the Office for Civil Society has been halved this year from £1.04m to £500,000.