Facebook to double its London office space
The social network leased new offices in King's Cross.
This render suggests what Facebook's King's Cross office will look like.
Facebook is doubling its presence in London by acquiring office space across two buildings in King's Cross.
The 600,000 square feet (56,000 square meters) of office space will be enough for more than 6,000 workstations. The social media giant hasn't said how many new jobs this will create, but it plans to have 2,300 UK employees by the end of 2018.
The expansion follows the 2017 opening of its site at Rathbone Place, which added 800 jobs and opened its first in-house incubator program for startup businesses. It also has a location on Brock Street.
Facebook's announcement represents a commitment to the UK at time of uncertainty, as it prepares to leave the EU in 2019 and lawmakers try to work out the best Brexit terms.
"This investment is great news for the capital," said London Mayor Sadiq Khan. "We welcome Facebook's long-term commitment, which is further evidence that London is open for business and a world-leading destination for major tech companies."
Facebook plans to have 2,300 UK employees by the end of 2018.
Steve Hatch, Facebook's managing director for Northern Europe, highlighted its long term approach to the company's UK investment.
"Many of Facebook's most significant global products from Workplace to social VR applications for Oculus were developed right here in London, in what is now our biggest engineering base outside the US," he said.
Last week, the company announced that London was among the locations it was sending AI researchers. It also purchased the London-based artificial intelligence AI start-up company Bloomsbury.
It's not the only tech company buying up London office space, the Financial Times notes. In the last two years, Amazon, Apple and Google have increased their UK presence.
Facebook's King's Cross investment will also see it becoming of neighbor of Google, which already has an office there.
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