Google could buy half the space for GBP 200 million and pre-let the other half at GBP 40 per square foot, according to the Telegraph.
The new office space would be located in the newly developed Kings Cross Central retail and office space centre. If it goes through, the move would represent a major expansion for Google and would be a vote of confidence for the London property market.
Discussions about the deal may have developed at the MIPIM property conference in Cannes recently, where Joe Borrett, the head of construction for EMEA at Google was in attendance, according to the newspaper.
Currently, Google’s operation in London resides in 76 Buckingham Palace Road, and the company also has offices in Peter House on Oxford Street in Manchester.
The Kings Cross Central development consists of 8 million square feet and is located adjacent to the station.
Kings Cross once had the reputation of something of a red-light district but has undergone massive regeneration starting in the 1990s. In November 2007 St Pancras became the terminal for the Eurostar with services to Paris and Belgium.
The development itself is on 65 acres of land owned by London and Continental Railways and Exel. The lands are primarily north of Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. The developer is Argent St George.
Currently, Google’s main headquarters are located in Mountain View, California at the ‘Googleplex’. The Googleplex is known for its amenities including a workout room, locker rooms, washers and dryers, massage room, video games, table football, billiard table and ping pong.
In 2006 the company took over 311,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan at 111 Eighth Avenue and purchased the commercial property in December 2010.
Editor’s notes: In July 2021, Google’s Kings Cross headquarters topped-out and signified the firm’s first wholly owned and designed building outside of the U.S.
Distinctive because it was longer than The Shard is tall, it was nicknamed a ‘landscraper’. At the time, Google described the £1 billion scheme as a show of confidence in the return to office working following the pandemic.
As of May 2023, Google was expected to move into the building in 2024 when the development was due to complete.
The company occupied serviced office space provided by Regus in Manchester until 2014.