Online travel agency Expedia is in talks to relocate to Derwent London’s Angel building in Islington, EC1, freeing up space in Covent Garden for social network giant Facebook.
Expedia has gone under offer to take around 80,000 sq ft in the 263,000 sq ft building at 407 St John Street, and is expected to pay more than £40 per sq ft on the fourth and fifth floors.
The move clears the way for Facebook to take Expedia’s 35,000 sq ft offices at Seven Dials Warehouse in Covent Garden, WC2.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company has considered other buildings in the area, including 60 St Martins Lane, WC2, but the 66,000 sq ft Seven Dials is now thought to be its preferred option.
Expedia has been looking at relocation options since January, when it instructed Cushman & Wakefield to scour London for around 50,000 sq ft of cheaper office space. It currently pays £70 per sq ft at Seven Dials.
Facebook initiated its 30,000 sq ft London requirement in January. DTZ was hired to secure its first major UK office.
Elsewhere in the online world, search engine firm Google is in the final stages of completing a deal to take 160,000 sq ft at Legal & General Property’s and Mitsubishi Estate Company’s Central Saint Giles, WC2.
CB Richard Ellis advises Google; Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield are letting agents at Central Saint Giles.
