Google Relocate Victoria HQ Taking a London Office Lease in King’s Cross

Google have announced they will relocate to new office space in King’s Cross when their current London office lease expires in 2016.

The search engine giant is preparing a planning application to build a 725,000 sq ft site behind King’s Cross Station.

Search engine firm Google has stunned the London office space market by announcing it will relocate from its current base in Victoria to take a London office lease in King’s Cross in 2016.

The tech firm, which is based at 123 Buckingham Palace Road for the next four years, is in the process of preparing a planning application to build a new development behind King’s Cross Station. Google have confirmed that in the last few weeks they’ve also appointed architect Allford Hall Monaghan to design the 725,000 sq ft scheme and signed an exclusivity deal with developer Argent.

The new proposals tie in with redevelopment plans for the 67 acre site which will feature a mix of office, retail and residential space. It’s thought that once completed, the scheme will bring 3.4 million sq ft of Grade A office space and 2,000 new houses to the area.

Reports suggest that rather than buying office space, Google will take on a London office lease for a cluster of five buildings at the south-east corner of the site. The firm’s announcement this week means they’ll join big names like BNP Paribas Real Estate, St Martins College and Camden Council who have already agreed on a London office lease at the scheme.

The announcement has come as a surprise to many in the industry who expected the Californian firm to either stay in Victoria or relocate to key locations such as the London Olympics Media Centre and Canary Wharf. It also comes just a few months after Google announced plans to open a communal work space ‘Campus’ for media start-ups in East London.

Interested in being neighbours with Google? Take a look at available office space in Kings Cross here.