Co-working giant WeWork is to take 143,000 sq ft at Regal Homes Shoreditch Exchange development on Hackney Road, E2.
The £20bn co-working firm, which earlier this month was revealed by EG to be taking 240,000 sq ft at the Stage in nearby Shoreditch, has agreed a 20-year lease with the housebuilder.
It is understood to paying around £65 per sq ft for the space.
Patrick Nelson, executive vice-president of real estate at WeWork, said: “Shoreditch Exchange on Hackney Road is a great destination for our latest WeWork, the 22nd to be announced in the UK.
“It’s a fantastic development in a vibrant, exciting location. We are looking forward to adding to our 15,000-strong member base here in the UK, and adding to our portfolio of more than 160 locations around the world.”
Regal’s mixed-use Shoreditch exchange will include a further 46,000 sq ft of commercial space for offices, independent retailers and leisure operators, and the entire commercial provision will equate to a 240% increase in employment space in the local area when it completes in 2020. Ten per cent of the space will be affordable to attract local artists and creatives.
The scheme will also include 184 flats and 1.2 acres of amenity and public space, while a further phase of the development, on the opposite side of Hackney Road, proposes 150,000 sq ft of extra commercial space and nine new flats.
Simon De Friend, joint chief executive of Regal Homes, said: “We have put an immense amount of thought into designing this scheme to ensure it works with the surrounding area and complements existing infrastructure.”
Cheyne Capital is providing development finance to Regal Homes for the scheme.
WeWork is undertaking a massive expansion in London. In June, the provider had acquired or was in negotiation on almost 2m sq ft of office space in the city, according to Knight Frank.
According to EG data, by the end of H1, WeWork had signed for 7.7% of total London office take-up – 423,450 sq ft of the of the 5.5m sq ft in total. The two deals at both The Stage and Shoreditch Exchange push that up to 12.2% of the 6.6m sq ft of reported take up to August.
Despite increasing activity around the City Fringe, there is still just 180,795 sq ft of space let to serviced office providers in Shoreditch according to EG. The two lettings to WeWork will more than double that.
As part of the space let at the Stage it is also considering a first European base for WeLive, the firm’s co-living brand.
The Shoreditch Exchange is to the north of the redevelopment around Shoreditch High Street, which includes Amazon’s new 600,000 sq ft London headquarters at Brookfield Property Partners and ENPAM’s Principal Place, EC2, which can accommodate more than 5,000 staff.
Regal Homes specialises in housing-led mixed-use schemes in London. Earlier this year it entered into a JV with KKR, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, which will see it finance future residential-led acquisitions around the capital on schemes of between 100 and 500 homes.
To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette
