Social media giant Twitter and online fashion retailer Asos have launched requirements totalling more than 350,000 sq ft as London continues to benefit from the booming digital economy.
Both firms have begun scouting options for new HQs in the capital despite acquiring space only in the past couple of years, reflecting their rapid expansion.
California-based Twitter has instructed DeVono Property to source up to 150,000 sq ft in the West End.
It occupies just over 50,000 sq ft at the Crown Estate’s AirW1, off Regent Street, which it acquired in two phases in 2012 and 2014.
The company would prefer to expand within the building. However, it is also considering options nearby for either expansion space or a wholesale move should expansion within Air W1 prove unworkable.
Asos has handed Crossland Otter Hunt a similar instruction that could lead to a prelet of as much as 200,000 sq ft.
It occupies around 130,000 sq ft at Lazari’s Greater London House in Mornington House, NW1, having expanded in the building in phases from 2007.
The online retailer remains interested in further expansion at Greater London House, where it has invested in a high-tech fit-out. However, it is also considering a number of alternative options that would likely involve a prelet.
Asos’s revenues increased by 14% in the six months to 28 February, while Twitter’s latest results include a revenue hike of 74% for the 12 months to 28 April.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, media and tech firms accounted for 28% of leasing activity in central London, above banking and finance’s 22%.
