TikTok eyes major Farringdon office move

TikTok is understood to be close to signing a major leasing deal at Helical’s latest office development in Farringdon. The circa 88,600 sq ft building, known as Kaleidoscope, is located east of Smithfield Market. The China-based social media app is expected to take the entire six-storey building, after issuing a requirement seeking up to 100,000 sq ft. JLL and Pilcher Hershman are the leasing agents at the location, which completed works in December last year. TikTok, which was founded in China in 2016, officially launched in the UK in August 2018. In June the firm staffed 800 employees in the UK and Ireland, and 1,000 employees in Europe. It launched a $70m (£54m) fund in July to pay some of its European users for their content, which is expected to grow to $300m within three years. The news follows reports in August that ByteDance, the Chinese firm behind the social media app, was considering opening a head office in the UK as its relationship with the US government spiralled downward. During the summer US president Donald Trump issued an executive order banning transactions with ByteDance or any of its subsidiaries, citing security concerns. This effectively forced a sale of its US business, otherwise it faced being shut down. TikTok said in a statement it was “shocked” by the order, adding that it had tried to engage with the US government for nearly a year. ByteDance subsequently held talks with the UK government about basing its headquarters in London. However, pressure from Washington left question marks around a potential move to the UK. Additionally, TikTok’s EMEA director for government relations and public policy Theo Bertram said in September that the company could not look at where it might establish its international base until the issue in the US is resolved. While giving evidence to the digital, culture, media and sport subcommittee on online harms and disinformation in September, Bertram also said TikTok is planning to invest €420m in setting up a data centre in Ireland, to hold all of its European data. The company’s British data is held on servers in the US and Singapore. During the session, Bertram sought to reassure the government over China’s access to the app’s data. “We have systems in place to protect our users’ data from access from overseas, in China specifically,” he said. “First of all, the parent company … is not ultimately Chinese, it is outside of China. The [board] of directors, the key investors, are largely American. Secondly … no employee in China can access TikTok … on behalf of [China’s] Communist Party to carry out mass surveillance. That is not possible.” TikTok has not yet responded to requests for comment. Helical, JLL and Pilcher Hershman declined to comment. To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette