Shoreditch is out, King’s Cross is in: These are the top tech hotspots for startups

Shoreditch is out as the hotspot for tech startups, while the popularity of a reinvented King’s Cross is on the rise, new figures reveal.

The majority of startups are now looking for space in Soho and Clerkenwell, data from Hubble shared exclusively with CityAM reveals, leapfrogging Tech City.

But it’s King’s Cross which has experienced the biggest growth in interest from startups searching for a home.

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Just three years ago it was Shoreditch which attracted the greatest interest on Hubble, accounting for almost a quarter of all searches on the platform, but it has now been relegated into third position due to rising cost of rents in the area.

Interest in the heart of Tech CIty declined 14 per cent in the period since the vote for Brexit compared to the same period the year before, and accelerating the previous decline of five per cent experienced in 2014/2015.

Interest in Soho and Clerkenwell grew by a quarter and now accounts for more than a fifth of all searches.

Meanwhile, interest in King’s Cross rocketed 36 per cent, more than any other location in the capital. The area is undergoing major redevelopment and will host a huge new purpose-built office for Google.

The platform for helping businesses find flexible working space also found that the number of larger businesses looking for new digs has tripled since the EU referendum.

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“We have seen interest grow from larger companies and SMEs that would have traditionally taken on a long-term conventional lease, but are opting for a flexible option instead where they have more control over their costs and the term they commit to,” said co-founder and chief Tushar Agarwal.

“This is increasingly being seen as a hedge to the uncertainty of the London economy as Brexit unfolds, and SMEs navigate new rules around business rates. It is also a characteristic of the evolution towards a more flexible commercial property market.”