Technology and telecommunications firms rented more new office space in Europe in the first six months of 2012 than banks and financial firms, according to a report issued by property consultancy CBRE. The worldwide popularity of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, as well as cloud computing, is contributing to these companies’ healthy growth and allowing them to grow.
In contrast, the financial services industry has been described as being in a “state of retreat” by Robert Wolstenholme, a partner at Resolution Properties. Landlords who want to attract tenants in the new technology industries must be prepared to renovate their holdings to offer amenities that will appeal to this market.
The company made this decision when it paid £43 million for Triton Court, a 100-year-old building on London’s Finsbury Square. Not only will the property be renamed Alphabeta, but its £150 million renovation will also include roof terraces, a film studio and a basketball court. The entrance will also be switched from the front of the property to the rear allowing staff to cycle through the reception area. It will be ready to reopen in 2014.
“The creative world does not feel comfortable sharing a building with bankers,” said Wolstenholme. “So we had to reposition it physically and conceptually.”
Another property owned by Resolution has been outfitted with astro turf instead of carpet. It also has tree houses and an £80,000 slide between two floors. Mint Candy will be leasing space in the building next year.
Corporations like Amazon, Skype, and LinkedIn were the major players when it came to rented spaced in 2012. They took up 520,000 square meters of office space, as opposed to 420,000 square meters of space rented by banks and financial institutions during the same period.
The technology and telecom (T&T) sector was the third-largest consumer of commercial space in Europe, behind the manufacturing and energy, commercial services and leisure sectors.
The amount of space leased by T&T companies has increased to just below 2011 levels. Banks are cutting staff and moving to smaller premises after being the largest consumers of office space prior to the 2011 crash.
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