Berkeley Square vs Canary Wharf – Which is London’s Premium Business Address?

Morgan Pryce has recently worked with a number of companies who have had a requirement to open a flagship London Office. The starting point being that they wanted to be in London’s premier business district.

The obvious answer would have been to take an office within the square mile often referred to as the City of London, a building with an EC2, EC3 or EC4 postcode. We knew from experience that sometimes company directors based outside of London or overseas will often have a vision of the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf as the benchmark for their business residence. However more often than not companies will ask our advice on which location will suit their business the best says Sean Dooley, Serviced Office Manager at Morgan Pryce.

Working with New York based financial clients, David Perrins, Project Director at Morgan Pryce, has helped companies coming to London secure offices in or around Berkeley Square. The reason companies especially boutique investment advisors or hedge funds choose Mayfair as their preferred location is normally attributed to the following factors says David:

 – Mayfair has a reputation for wealth and success and a short walk up Bond Street or around Berkeley Square gives plenty of reason why it’s a seductive place.

– Berkeley Square itself is better known within the London scene than it is internationally, but it’s a magnet for financial start ups looking to associate themselves with in their mind London’s most prestigious square.

– The property fundamentals are a factor as well, grand properties and high specification office buildings will always attract the talent and most successful companies.

– Berkeley Square is also well connected being within walking distance of Piccadilly Circus, Green Park, Bond Street and Oxford Circus underground stations.

A recent tenant research project undertaken by Morgan Pryce identified that there are more companies based in London with a  Berkeley Square address with under 10 staff than there are larger companies in the area. This result is helped by some excellent serviced office buildings catering for the needs of smaller requirements such as Regus at Berkeley Square House or Argyll Business Centres also on the Square. MWBEX are near by on Berkeley Street and Avanta have an excellent office space on Dover Street.

So if Berkeley Square is the best in the west, occupying a prime central point in the W1 postcode Canary Wharf is the jewel of east London.

Canary Wharf is a well established business district and holds credibility  all over the world as a financial centre. Helped by the concentration of big banks and financial services companies it is a landmark destination.

A common problem for companies new to London looking to get a foothold into Canary Wharf is the lack of small offices. The area has very much been developed for single let HQ style buildings for the likes of HSBC and Citi Bank.

The best option for companies looking to start up with a Canary Wharf address is to secure a serviced office.

Serviced Offices in Canary Wharf are some of the best available in the world with high specification buildings and normally great views across London.

If your business is considering a move to London and you think either Berkeley Square or Canary Wharf could be an option please contact Morgan Pryce on 020 7292 4710.