Kennedy Wilson has signed a new lease with WeWork, a provider of flexible, collaborative and shared workspaces, to occupy all eight floors at Friars Bridge Court in London. WeWork is expected to open in early 2021 following a comprehensive refurbishment of the building. Currently leased to a variety of tenants on short-term leases, Friars Bridge Court is a wholly-owned office building located in the heart of London’s Southbank. The building provides flexible and well-connected premises, ideally situated on Blackfriars Road with close proximity to Blackfriars and Southwark underground stations and Waterloo main line station, London’s gateway to the South of the UK. The vibrant Southbank area is benefitting from significant regeneration with high-rise office, residential and hotel developments, and is thereby attracting a strong level of tech and media occupiers. Friars Bridge Court also benefits from its prime position adjoining the new Hoxton Hotel mixed-use development, which will further enhance the attractiveness of the area for occupiers. Mike Pegler, Head of Asset Management of Kennedy Wilson Europe, says: “We are excited to have now concluded our first UK deal with WeWork, which also represents the largest letting of 2018 in this core Southbank market. We believe the ever-improving offer and local amenities of this location makes Friars Bridge Court work perfectly for WeWork’s members, which in turn will further add to the vibrancy of the area. “The WeWork lease alongside our recently signed ASOS lease, at Watford, represent our largest lettings in Europe and bring strong momentum to our leasing programme year-to-date, with 2.5 million sq ft of lease transactions, on GBP37.0 million of contracted rent and generating GBP8.9 million of incremental income.” Patrick Nelson, Head of WeWork EMEA + Australia, Real Estate, adds: “London’s Southbank is an important location for us in terms of community, adding Friars Bridge Court to our portfolio proves our commitment and dedication to this area and the city as a whole. We also recently announced that our largest European building, WeWork Waterloo, with over 6,000 members, is also set to open next year. Every week, WeWork members spend nearly three times as much as the average Londoner on pubs, restaurants, and cafes, injecting more than GBP75 million per year into local neighbourhood businesses – we know our members will benefit from Southbank’s nearby amenities, as will the local businesses. This building is our 41st location in London, and we’re excited to welcome more members to our bourgeoning community of over 35,000 members in the city.”
WeWork has embarked on a deal with Kennedy Wilson to lease all eight floors of Friars Bridge Court in London 's Southbank . The building , currently let to a number of tenants on short - term leases , will undergo a complete refurbishment and is expected to open in early 2021 . Friars Bridge Court will be the co - workspace operators 41stlocation in London where it has more than 35,000 members .