Swatch has secured a five-year tenancy for 9,500 sq ft of office accommodation within a mixed-use commercial development in Canary Wharf.
The timepiece and jewellery firm will relocate its London base from Dockside Road to the Docklands property Sierra Quebec Bravo (SQB), as reported by City AM.
Swatch declined to respond to enquiries and has kept the rental costs under wraps.
This represents an unusual instance of businesses choosing Canary Wharf over alternative locations, particularly as vacancy rates reached unprecedented levels earlier this year whilst companies gravitated towards the City and West End.
The east London financial hub continues to grapple with recovery following a pandemic-driven decline in occupier demand, despite previously thriving with major corporate tenants such as HSBC.
Rise of multi-use, amenity-rich offices
The mixed-use development, which capitalises on the capital’s growing appetite for amenity-laden office environments, represents a complete reimagining of the former South Quay structure.
The workspace features “hospitality-driven service” alongside “wellbeing and lifestyle amenities”.
Connor Brazendale, senior investment manager at General Projects, observed that employees have increasingly sought a shift “away from corporate desks towards hospitality-driven community-led workspaces.
“Offer a space that people want to use, and the occupiers will come,” Brazendale said.
“We’re seeing a great deal of demand for our space at SQB and it’s a testament to the product we’ve created that such an iconic brand as Swatch has become part of the community we’re building,” Brazendale added.
General Projects will oversee the fit-out of the space in preparation for Swatch’s relocation into the building.
Swatch’s pre-tax UK profit amounted to £23.6m in 2022, with the company grappling with “[low] levels of employment, interest rates, tax rates, inflation, government policies, increasing National Insurance contributions [and] political factors.”
The broader Swiss watch industry has been feeling the strain from the threat of hefty tariffs impacting US sales.
