The technology giant Google announced last Friday that it has purchased the London real estate complex where it currently rents its offices for $1 billion.
With the acquisition of these offices, "Google will have the capacity to accommodate 10,000 employees at its sites in the United Kingdom, including the new project at King's Cross," the company said in a statement Friday.
Indeed, the American behemoth is building a new site on more than 90,000 m2 in the district of King's Cross, which should be completed in the next two years.
This purchase in the center of the British capital, "demonstrates Google's continued confidence in the office as a place for collaboration and face-to-face connection," added the same source, despite the explosion of teleworking with the pandemic.
The Californian firm plans to inject "several million pounds" to renovate the premises, with "new collaboration spaces" that can be configured in different ways according to needs but also covered outdoor spaces "to be able to work in the open air."
The three-building complex surrounding a central public square was designed by Italian star architect Renzo Piano. It has other corporate tenants that will not be affected by the change in ownership.
The company also has premises at three other sites in London, in the King's Cross and Victoria areas, as well as a site in Manchester. It currently employs more than 6,400 people in the country, including nearly 700 new hires last year.
