Shortly after being released to the market, the latest office building at King’s Cross has been pre-let to Universal Music, the world’s leading music company, to become its UK headquarters.
Universal Music, currently based in Kensington, has signed a long-term lease for the entire office space in Four Pancras Square, totalling c. 177,000 sq ft. It will move its 1000-plus employee workforce to King’s Cross, as well as those of its sister companies Universal Music Publishing and See Tickets.
Universal Music, whose labels include Island, Polydor, Virgin EMI and Decca, is home to successful artists from across the musical spectrum including James Bay, Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, The Rolling Stones, Sam Smith, Take That and U2. It also releases the music of global superstars such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Eminem.
Four Pancras Square will complete in summer 2017. Universal Music will have global media firm Havas next door in Three Pancras Square and Google, Louis Vuitton and PRS for Music, amongst many others, as their near-neighbours around the square.
The building, designed by Eric Parry Architects, gained reserved matters planning consent in January this year. In addition to the ten storeys of high quality office space, the building, which sits prominently at the head of the square, features a spectacular roof-top garden, balconies at all levels, a 10,000 sq ft destination restaurant at ground and lower ground floor and a dedicated cycle access leading to first class storage and changing facilities in the basement.
David Joseph, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK, said:
“Kings Cross is fast emerging as a creative hub for London. It’s going to be an energising place to work and feels like a natural home for Universal Music with many opportunities for collaboration and inspiration literally on our doorstep.”
Nick Searl, partner at Argent who are developing the building on behalf of the King’s Cross Partnership, said:
“We are immensely pleased to welcome such a prestigious and globally respected tenant to King’s Cross; Universal Music’s decision to relocate here is testament to the dynamic and creative environment that has been created and the area’s broad appeal to businesses across a variety of sectors. By mid- 2017 we expect to have over 12,000 people working at King’s Cross, confirming its reputation as London’s new office destination and leading the way in workplace design and performance.”
Pancras Square is now fully let. Across the whole development, however, approximately 800,000 sq ft of the 3 million sq ft of office space remains available. The next building, R7, houses 150,000 sq ft of office space and is due to complete in summer 2017. Situated immediately adjacent to Central Saint Martins, this unique building is expected to attract an array of medium and smaller sized businesses.
CBRE acted for Universal Music; Savills and Cushman & Wakefield are acting for the King’s Cross Partnership.
