London is experiencing something of a tour-de-tech. Technology, media and telecoms companies are colonising the city at astonishing pace, having taken advantage of technological advances such as cloud computing to emerge as one of the most economically significant forces in the UK.
Research from BNP Paribas Real Estate shows the sector’s office demand is surpassing others. Some 54% of TMT firms expect to increase their London head count by one-third on average over the next three years, translating into 1.2m sq ft of additional demand. At this rate, by the end of 2014, they’ll need an estimated 4.6m sq ft.
So how does the capital accommodate this mind-boggling rate of growth?
That was a question put to a panel of experts at the Estates Gazette London TMT Debate, and the ensuing discussion was fascinating.
The panel consisted of Benjamin Southworth – deputy chief executive of Tech City Investment Organisation, David Rose – chief executive at We R Interactive, Louis Kenna – head of TMT finance, BNP Paribas, Celine Thompson – head of leasing, Derwent London and Dan Bayley – head of central London, BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Listen below to a full podcast recording of the TMT debate, or download it here. Alternatively, head to Estates Gazette’s iTunes channel.
Watch the videos to find out what they said.
rebecca.kent@estatesgazette.com
