WeWork snaps up 280,000 square feet of space in South Bank for setting up the largest co-working space in the world
US shared office group WeWork has agreed to lease 280,000 square feet near Waterloo station to set up the world's largest co-working space.
Owned by property giant Almacantar, the space at Two Southbank Place was let as part of London's largest leasing agreement this year so far.
WeWork has 12 locations in the capital and the UK in addition to spaces in 44 cities around the world.
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Set up in New York in 2010, the workspace provider was reportedly nearing a $3bn investment from SoftBank in March that was expected to value it at close to $20bn.
Eugen Miropolski, managing director for WeWork in Europe & Israel, said: “London represents one of WeWork's most vibrant communities in the world, and, in a show of strength and commitment to our second largest market, we are announcing our largest location worldwide here in London.
"This new location will be a base for UK businesses as they grow, foreign companies that want to come to the UK, and major corporates seeking to integrate into our innovative community.”
Mike Hussey, chief executive, Almacantar said: “WeWork is an admirable brand, and the perfect occupier for Two Southbank Place. The commitment from Shell and WeWork at Southbank Place support our conviction that Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar are creating one of the highest quality mixed use projects in central London."
The news comes as FTSE 250 office group Workspace Group reported a 6.9 per cent rise in net rental income for the full year, to £79.2m.
However, its pre-tax profit dropped to £88.8m from £391.3m a year earlier.
Jamie Hopkins, chief executive, Workspace Group, said: "Despite uncertainty in market following the EU referendum, we remain confident of our ability to deliver long-term value for shareholders.
"We continue to see healthy demand for our space and we have financial resources to take advantage of acquisition opportunities.
"We have a strong pipeline of refurbishments and redevelopments expected to deliver more than 1m sq ft. of new and upgraded space over next three years."