Canary Wharf attracts a new kind of tenant

Trends, more often than not, have a life of their own. Not least in property. Trends are contrary, wandering off in another direction when someone is trying to usher them elsewhere.

For example, TechCity is an area of London, named, funded and designated by the government at a cost of £50 million, aimed at attracting TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) sector companies. The intention was to create a rival, or at least an alternative or a counterpart to Silicon Valley in California. TechCity is backed by big player investors such as Intel, Vodafone, Facebook and Google, and is based around the Shoreditch and Hoxton area of the capital.

However, the best-laid plans have upped and gone to Canary Wharf. For years Canary Wharf has been London’s second financial centre, containing the UK headquarters of banking giants such as Barclays, HSBC and Credit Suisse. However, the TMT sector is slowly nudging itself in. New start-ups are looking to Canary Wharf as an alternative to the TechCity hub – which isn’t cheap in itself – with the intention of staying close to their clients and, of course, making use of the excellent infrastructure and IT facilities in the Canary Wharf development.

Sally Brough, Associate Director at Morgan Pryce, notes, “This is an area that agents won’t be able to ignore and will have to present to their clients as potential space worth renting. It wasn’t a move that any of us foresaw happening, but the more TMT businesses that set up there, the more that will follow.”

And so this area of London actually reflects on a micro scale the economy at present. Banks are muddling along, and internet and technology-related businesses are on the up.

Morgan Pryce is a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.