US shared office space provider WeWork has chosen Sea Containers House on London’s South Bank, SE1, for its UK debut.
The company, which houses 2,500 small businesses across 17 buildings in the US, has completed a deal for 37,500 sq ft in the South Building at Sea Containers House, for the first of a number of planned UK offices.
It has taken a 10-year lease on floors four to eight, where the quoting rent is around £50 per sq ft.
Earlier this month the firm revealed that it was targeting London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Tel Aviv as it looks to capitalise on the growing popularity of co-working.
Colliers International’s vice-president for Silicon Valley, Nick Goddard, said: “With the continued growth of the technology sector in the London market, there is a certain inevitability to the arrival of the incubator space that has been popular in the US tech hubs, such as Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York.
“This environment gives aspiring entrepreneurs the availability of networking, shared facilities and access to the venture capital world.”
US-based Rocketspace is also in the London market currently looking for as much as 100,000 sq ft to house tech start-ups (15 February, p68).
The WeWork deal will mean the 291,000 sq ft Sea Containers House will be fully let ahead of its summer 2014 completion.
WeWork is already in talks with landlord Archlane and asset manager Deerbrook for more sites in the capital.
Bluebook and Deloitte Real Estate are letting agents at Sea Containers House.
Joanna.Bourke@estatesgazette.com
