Best London Location For Your Business
If you’re looking for a new office in London, one of your biggest questions will be “which area of London is best for my new office?”. It’s a huge decision, as it will affect the cost of your real estate, your brand image, staff engagement, and access to talent. Choosing the right London borough for your office won’t guarantee a successful office move. However, choosing the wrong one will almost guarantee your office relocation won’t be successful.
As an office fit out company, we’ve been carrying office relocations in London since 2008. In that time, we’ve helped hundreds of companies plan their office moves and find new offices, as well as designing & building their new office interior.
Today, we’ll run through 11 of the most popular locations for London offices. We’ll give a brief overview of the area, as well as its transport links, lease costs, landmarks, and popular industries. By the end of this article, you’ll have a high-level knowledge of the main office locations in London. As a result, you’ll be much better placed to decide where in London your new office should be.
It’s important to note that choosing where your new office should be is not the first step of your office relocation. First, you need to set/ review your workspace strategy, as well as your project objectives and milestones. Then, as part of defining your new space criteria, you choose where your new office should be.
To learn more about the entire office relocation process, download The Ultimate Guide to Office Relocation. It’s one comprehensive guide that will help you understand everything that goes into an office relocation, what it costs, and how long it will take. Download your office relocation guide here.
11 Best London Locations for Offices
London is a diverse and vibrant city, home to 8.9 million people and over 1 million businesses. There are 32 boroughs in London, each with their own unique personality and culture. Here, we’ll go through the 11 most popular locations in London for offices, including their location, background, lease costs and popular sectors.
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is London’s second key financial district, after The City. The newest business district in the City, it was created by the redevelopment of the derelict docklands area. As a result, it is comprised almost entirely of modern office buildings.
Canary Wharf contains about 16 million sq/ft of commercial space. As it is further out from the city centre than other districts, the transport links are more difficult. However, it is well connected with the new Elizabeth Line and the Docklands Light Railway.
Location: East London, E14
Sectors: Financial, Legal, Insurance
Famous Locations: One Canada Square, Newfoundland Quay, One Churchill Place
Lease Costs: £70 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Covent Garden & Soho
Covent Garden and Soho are two adjacent districts located in the heart of the west end, east of Mayfair. A vibrant area of London mainly known for its nightlife and shopping, it is also a popular area for offices.
Soho is traditionally popular with media companies, but both boroughs now host a wide variety of businesses. Typically, these are companies with younger workforces, as the area is popular with people under 35. Located in the heart of London, these districts have good underground connections, including the Central, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.
Location: West End, WC2/W1
Sectors: Media, Technology
Famous Locations: Leicester Square, Carnaby St, Covent Garden
Lease Costs: £110 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Farringdon & Clerkenwell
Located east of Holborn and north of The City, Farringdon and Clerkenwell is one of the most popular locations in London. Historically an industrial area, it was redeveloped in the 1990s as a mix of residential and commercial locations. Due to its lower costs, it has attracted many media companies out of Soho. It is now known as a creative district. It is also a popular location for tech companies.
With the opening of the Elizabeth Line, Farringdon is now one of London’s busiest stations. As a result, the borough is well-connected to the rest of London. Underground lines, including Hammersmith & City, Circle, and Metropolitan lines are also available.
Location: Central London, EC1/ EC4
Sectors: Media, Technology
Famous Locations: Google Startup Campus, Smithfield Market
Lease Costs: £90 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Holborn/ Midtown
Holborn is a large district just north of the Thames, located between The City and Soho. Along with Bloomsbury and Chancery Lane, it is collectively known as “Midtown”. Historically, it has been known as a legal centre, containing The Old Bailey, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court. The area around Fleet Street is a major media centre. While it has retained these industries, many creative companies have also moved to this area, attracted by lower rents than Soho.
Location: Central London, EC1/ EC4
Sectors: Legal, Media, Creative
Famous Locations: Old Bailey, Inns of Justice, City Point
Lease Costs: £95 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Kensington & Chelsea
Primarily a residential and retail area, Kensington and Chelsea is located to the west of the main West End business district. It has good access to the West End, whilst being cheaper to rent. However, it is mainly a residential and cultural location, featuring The V&A, as well as The Royal Colleges of Art and Music, among many other tourist attractions. As a result, there is little office space available, and the transport links are not designed for commercial use.
Location: West London, SW10, W2-14
Sectors: N/A
Famous Locations: V&C, Natural History Museum, Chelsea Barracks
Lease Costs: £90 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Knightsbridge
Famous for its retail presence, Knightsbridge is a small district north of Chelsea. The location is mainly taken up by embassies and high-end residential buildings. As a result, there is limited office space available. The location is very prestigious, so it can be attractive to some professional services companies.
As a result of the prestige and limited supply of office space, it is also one of the most expensive areas in London. While the road links are better than in other areas of London, the rail transport is not so good, as the area is only connected by the Piccadilly Underground line.
Location: West London, SW1
Sectors: Law, Consultancy
Famous Locations: Harrods, Belgrave Square
Lease Costs: £115 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Marylebone
Marylebone is a small, exclusive district north of Mayfair. One of the older districts in London, it features mainly Georgian architecture, with few, if any, modern buildings. Local landlords and authorities have encouraged small and boutique firms to locate in Marylebone, giving the borough a unique and local feel. As a result, it is very popular with legal and financial boutiques.
The area has good overground rail connections, with Marylebone, Euston, and Paddington stations all nearby. It is also well-serviced by the Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City Lines.
Location: West London, SW1
Sectors: Law, Consultancy
Famous Locations: Regent’s Park, Baker St
Lease Costs: £110 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Mayfair & St James
The adjacent districts of Mayfair & St James are among the most prestigious in the World. Located in the heart of the West End, the area is very popular with legal companies. Most buildings in the borough date from the 1700s and are listed. However, many have been extensively refurbished to provide modern quality office space in the same historical buildings. The boroughs are connected to the Elizabeth Line, as well as the Central, Jubilee, Piccadilly, and Bakerloo Lines.
Location: West End, W1/ SW1
Sectors: Law, Consultancy
Famous Locations: Berkeley Square, Grosvenor Square, Bond St, Pall Mall
Lease Costs: £140 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district that lies to the east of Clerkenwell and north of The City. Until relatively recently, Shoreditch was an industrial area. However, it has been extensively modernised since 1995, and is now one of the most fashionable office locations in London. Many offices are refurbished warehouses or old buildings and feature industrial designs.
The area is particularly popular with creative and tech companies. The borough has good connections to the rest of London, being serviced by the Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, and Northern Underground Lines.
Location: East London, E1-1
Sectors: Creative, Tech, Fintech
Famous Locations: Silicon Roundabout, Old Street
Lease Costs: £85 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
The City
The City of London (known as “The City”) is the area of the historical city, located in the heart of London. At its centre is “The Square Mile”, a small but famous area. It’s the financial centre of London and one of the major financial centres of the world. Consequently, it’s very popular with banking, wealth management, and trading companies. It is also a hub for insurance and other professional services companies.
Most of The City has been extensively modernised, and many buildings are less than 50 years old. As a result, the office space is of high quality. Despite this, it is relatively cost-effective. The borough is very well connected. Overground rail from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street allows easy access for commuters. The area is serviced by no less than 6 Underground Lines, including Central, Northern, and Elizabeth Lines.
Location: Central London, WC1-2/EC1-4
Sectors: Financial, Insurance, Trading
Famous Locations: 22 Bishopsgate, The Gherkin, The Cheese-Grater, The Walkie-Talkie
Lease Costs: £95 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Waterloo & Bridge
Waterloo and London Bridge, collectively known as South Bank, is located immediately south of the Thames, between Westminster and Tower Bridge. It’s one of the few commercial districts south of the river, and the only one on our list. It has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years and is now known as a hub for consultancy and advertising firms. It’s also popular with fintech companies.
The district is home to the UK’s busiest overground station, Waterloo. It is also serviced by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern, and Waterloo & City Underground lines. Rents are much lower than the West End and The City, which makes it an attractive option for relocating companies.
Location: South London, SE1
Sectors: Consultancy, Advertising
Famous Locations: Borough Market, The Shard, One Blackfriars
Lease Costs: £80 per sq/ft (including rates and service charge)
Choosing Your New Office Location
Choosing where your office should be is one of the most important decisions of your office relocation. Your new office’s location will impact your brand image for both clients and staff, as well as impacting your access to talent. It is also a very costly decision, so it’s important to maximise the value of your office space.
Now that you know about the major commercial office space locations in London, you are much better prepared to decide or recommend where your new office should be. As a result, you will help make your company’s office move the success you need it to be.
There is no one “best” London district for an office – it depends on your industry, brand, workforce and budget. We recommend making this decision with the advice of a professional commercial real estate agent, who will have the network, experience, and expertise to help you make the best decision for your company and people.
At Zentura, we office turnkey office relocation support. This starts with workspace strategy and project planning. We can then use our network of agents to help you find and secure a suitable office space. We’ll then design and deliver a workspace that works for you and your people. All the while, Zencare, our 3-year post-contract care programme, gives you complete peace of mind. If this sounds valuable to you, reach out to our team here. We’d love to hear about your upcoming office move.
To learn more about office relocation, download The Ultimate Guide to Office Relocation. It’s one comprehensive guide that will help you understand everything that goes into an office relocation, what it costs, and how long it will take. Download your office relocation guide here.
