WeWork opens the doors at first Canary Wharf location

WeWork has opened its first building in Canary Wharf at 30 Churchill Place, E14. It agreed to sublet the 284,704 sq ft space off the European Medicines Agency in July following a lengthy battle between the EMA and Canary Wharf Group over its lease. It is its 54th location in London and its first in Canary Wharf. A total of 12 floors will open to members between now and the end of March 2020. It will be one of the largest WeWork locations once fully open housing more than 6,000 desks. WeWork said the new space “challenges the typical expectation of traditional office space in Canary Wharf” as it will offer spaces to small, medium and larger enterprises. From January it will also host a WeWork Labs, the firm’s global innovation platform for early stage start-ups and forward-thinking enterprise companies, focused on fintech and blockchain innovation. The space will also feature WeWork’s first conference centre suite, with 11 large boardrooms and classrooms that will give its enterprise members the space and facilities to hold board meetings, conferences and events as the company looks to cater for companies seeking cost-efficient, flexible and scalable workplace solutions. 30 Churchill Place will also offer a yoga studio and meditation room, as well as a members’ cafe, all due to open in the spring. Mathieu Proust, general manager for WeWork, UK and Ireland, said: “London is a very successful and important market for us, so we are really excited to have opened our doors in one of the city’s most attractive business districts with such an innovative building. “With a strong focus on the demands of enterprises alongside spaces and amenities for all types of businesses, we’re creating a diverse, inspiring environment at 30 Churchill Place so people from all sorts of industries and companies can work, connect and thrive.” The opening of the new location comes as WeWork and Softbank Group have secured $1.75bn of financing via a credit facility from Goldman Sachs. The pair have entered into a commitment with Goldman Sachs for the new senior secured letter of credit facility. Under the new facility, WeWork is required to post 0% cash collateral and WeWork and Softbank are co-obligors on a senior secured and unsecured basis, respectively. Goldman Sachs is in the process of syndicating the facility and it is expected to be available to WeWork in in January. [gallery type="slideshow" ids="1012166,1012167,1012168,1012223"] To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette