Helical secures Silicon Valley Unicorn at The Tower, EC1

Published
23 September 2019

Just three of the seventeen floors remain available to let

Helical plc, one of London’s leading property developers, has exchanged contracts on a new ‘Plug & Play’ lease agreement with Snowflake, provider of the data warehouse built for the cloud, to become the latest occupier at its landmark Old Street scheme. Helical has now let 82% of the office space within The Bower’s second phase building, to a diverse range of international businesses.

Snowflake has signed a 5-year lease for the 9,568 sq ft 14th floor in order to support its growing London headcount. As part of the agreement, Helical is currently undertaking a CAT B fit out so that Snowflake can take occupation, without the time and inconvenience of doing the work itself.

Snowflake follow the arrival of Incubeta, who took a lease for the 16th floor in June this year. The increasingly diverse tenant base at The Tower also includes Finablr, the owner of Travelex and UAE Exchange; Brilliant Basics, an Infosys Company; and Farfetch, the online luxury fashion retail platform. WeWork, the global provider of flexible, collaborative and shared workspaces, occupies floors one to six.

Tom Anderson
Senior Investment Executive of Helical plc

Snowflake is one of Silicon Valley’s hottest venture-backed companies, so its decision to relocate its UK HQ to The Bower is significant and further demonstrates The Bower’s appeal as a major London hub for creative businesses.

 

“Snowflake is taking this floor on a full turn-key basis, which proves that our focus on customer service, alongside a flexible approach to lease structuring, meets the demands of today’s discerning occupiers. We only have three floors left and are in active discussions for all this remaining space.”

Warrick Taylor, Snowflake Vice President of Workplace & Real Estate, added: “We have been looking for the ideal premises to support our growing operations in the UK, and The Bower’s exciting occupier mix, appealing public realm and clear ability to deliver a superior fit out, was the obvious choice.”

Located directly next to Old Street roundabout and designed by renowned architects AHMM, The Tower provides 171,434 sq ft of Grade-A office space, on seventeen levels, with two additional ground floor retail units, which have been let to upscale urban food and bar offer Serata Hall and the popular Asian restaurant, Wagamama. It sits adjacent to The Warehouse which is fully let to a range of tenants including CBS, Stripe, Allegis, Pivotal and John Brown Media, as well as a full complement of high-quality food and beverage operations including The Shoreditch Grind, Enoteca de Luca, The Draft House, Bone Daddies and Mokka Brothers. The 3.12 acre site, comprising circa 350,000 sq ft of office and retail space, is currently 91% let.
In close proximity to the City of London, and on the edge of thriving Shoreditch, The Bower’s modern aesthetic is fused with industrial features, aimed at creating a working space that caters for a variety of sectors, in keeping with the dynamic of the local area.

The remaining 30,949 sq ft of The Tower offers single or multiple floors of offices with the ability to interconnect for those wanting to be self-contained. The 12th floor has been fitted out and is available for immediate occupation. All tenants of the Tower benefit from the shared facilities and amenities at The Bower, which include a communal lounge, bike store, meeting room and shower rooms.

Helical was represented by Colliers and JLL. Snowflake was advised by Knight Frank.

For further information:

  • Gerald Kaye
    Helical
    Tel 020 7629 0113
  • Dido Laurimore/Richard Gotla/Andrew Davis
    FTI Consulting
    Tel 020 3727 1000
  • Tim Murphy
    Press Enquiries
    Tel 020 7629 0113