No less a figure than the British chancellor of the exchequer showed up at the offices in Covent Garden to offer his support for the endeavour and to bask in the glory of seeing such a big-name company expanding its presence in London. Elsewhere, the city’s mayor, Boris Johnson, welcomed the opening as reflecting positively on London as a destination for technological enterprise.
Facebook announced plans to establish an engineering office in the West End in July. Since then, the company has recruited a number of UK graduates and made clear its intention to expand its recruitment efforts further.
Staff at Facebook’s new London offices will be led by engineer Philip Su and will focus primarily on “shipping code and products relating to mobile and platform.” Mr Su explained in a Facebook post back in July that the aim of the London office will initially be to establish a “core of great engineers and then grow over time.”
“London is a perfect fit for Facebook engineering – it’s a global hub, and it has a vibrant local startup community with lots of great technical talent,” Su wrote. “We are a culture of builders, and the environment we plan to create in London will reflect that. Our engineers in London – like those in Menlo Park, New York, and Seattle – will be able to pursue great ideas and ship products quickly.”
London’s West End is among the most expensive places in the world to rent top-quality office space, but technology and media companies are among the leading sources of take-up activity across the capital right now and have been for the past couple of years.
Editor’s notes: In August 2024, the parent company of Facebook, Meta, did not list Covent Garden as an office location on its website. In January 2024, the company announced the closure of its Rathbone Square office in Fitzrovia in London’s West End.
In September 2023, Meta surrendered its lease with British Land at Regent’s Place, paying the landlord £149 million.