Groupon mulls move from temporary Tech City base to Square Mile office
BARGAIN website Groupon is poised to move out of the Tech City development in East London, according to reports, becoming the latest in a number of big-hitting companies to turn its back on the area.
Groupon has been operating out of temporary offices in the zone, which stretches from Shoreditch to Stratford. But the firm is now reportedly close to signing a deal to relocate to near Monument.
The Tech City zone, also known as Silicon Roundabout, has sought to build on the number of small technology firms springing up in the area by luring larger firms there. The project had already been dealt a blow in September by Twitter’s decision to choose Dublin as its headquarters. However later that month Google signed a 10-year lease on a building in the zone it intended to make available to start-ups.
A source close to Groupon declined to comment on the news, but said whether the company based itself in Tech City or elsewhere, it remained committed to London.
“The UK is a key market to Groupon. Being in London is important to us,” the source said.
Martin Warner, online entrepreneur and founder of Tech Entrepreneur’s Week, said: “The issue is trying to force tech companies into a geographical boundary when the benefits are not attractive enough yet.”