Level39 to Open New ‘High Growth’ Expansion Space in One Canada Square
10th September 2013
Canary Wharf Group today announced it will dedicate a further 15,000 square feet of office space at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf to accommodate growing demand from high growth technology companies.
The launch in March of Level39 at Canary Wharf, Europe’s largest accelerator space for financial, retail and future cities technologies has proved successful, with over 310 applications received and all of the fixed and hot desk spaces occupied. To respond to this greater than expected demand, the Group has created an additional ‘high growth’ expansion space on the forty-second floor.
The new facility, ready for occupation this week, will meet the demand for office space in Canary Wharf from technology companies expanding out of Level39 and its accelerator programmes. The Group has already exchanged contracts for immediate occupation with three high growth potential companies; Digital Shadows, Crowdrooster and Growth Intelligence, all graduates of Level39.
Crowdrooster, Digital Shadows, Growth Intelligence
The Group is speaking to a further 11 technology companies about occupying the new space, and is pioneering flexible terms that support the high growth rates of technology companies. The high growth space can accommodate businesses of 8 to 60 people, and will provide a dedicated reception and pantry area, along with a connecting lift to the burgeoning Level39 community, set in the middle of one of the world’s premier business and shopping districts, with a working population of 100,000 and over 240 cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.
Eric Van Der Kleij, Head of the Level39 Technology Accelerator at Canary Wharf Group plc said: “This is part of our strategy to be more flexible to accommodate high-potential technology firms. Level39 is a soft landing for technology companies at Canary Wharf. Beyond that, we can help firms scale up in a very short space of time, moving from say a dozen employees to a hundred, then to a thousand, without having to be displaced from the local area. We can also help these companies access new clients, investment, mentoring and talent from the world leading firms already based at Canary Wharf. This kind of flexibility and assistance can be a crucial success factor for a growing business.”
“Ideally we are seeking companies that match Level39’s three areas of focus; FinTech, Retail Tech and Future Cities technologies. The aim is for us to offer something completely new for London, a physical centrepiece for Fintech which complements the other tech clusters across the UK and helps cement London’s position as the tech capital of Europe, while helping to return the financial services sector to growth,” he said.
Alastair Paterson, Founder and CEO of Digital Shadows said: “We’re delighted to announce that Digital Shadows will be the first business to occupy the high growth space. Level39 and its community has been a great launch pad, and we’re excited to be moving into this new, world-class facility. Canary Wharf Group have been very flexible in meeting our needs and the high growth space will be the perfect place to accommodate our rapid growth as we continue to secure the world’s leading financial institutions.”
Thomas Gatten, CEO of Growth Intelligence said: “Growth Intelligence has doubled in size since moving into Level39 in earlier this year. We’re looking forward to settling into our much larger new space and continuing to work with Digital Shadows and others in the Canary Wharf community.”
Francesco Fumagalli, CEO Crowdrooster said: “Crowdrooster’s workforce has doubled in the three months since moving into Level39, and we forecast that it will triple in the next three. As we move into the high growth space, we can focus on our core business without incurring in any logistic scalability issues, thanks to the smart flexibility that Canary Wharf Group is providing us with. Level39 has been a key factor for achieving our goals, thanks to their care and understanding of start-ups and moving into the high growth space is a great opportunity.”
Canary Wharf is an increasingly popular location for technology companies. Level39 at Canary Wharf has already secured more than 40 industry leading technology events such as Wired Money, London Innotech Summit, SWIFT Innotribe Start Up Challenge and a FinTech ‘Digital Sizzle’ organised by the Three Beards, a social organisation for technology professionals in the Tech City area. It recently announced a strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes which, among other initiatives, will see it deliver the 3D FinTech Challenge accelerator programme in the second half of 2013.