7 Things You Didn't Know About Office Space in Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf has become synonymous with regeneration and resilience. In the past 30 years, its on-again-off-again development has been in the hands of Canadian property tycoon Paul Reichman, Thatcher’s environment secretary, Songbird Estates (led by Morgan Stanley) and The Qatari Investment Authority. Now, its glistening skyline, punctuated by bank logos and breath-taking structures, draws in old and new businesses like moths to a flame.

Serviced office space in Canary Wharf has become a magnet to companies of all shapes and sizes. 10 years ago, 70% of businesses in Canary Wharf were in the financial services. But since then, media big dogs like The Telegraph, The Mirror and The Independent have traded in Fleet Street for it.

As of 2019, just 55% of businesses in Canary Wharf are in the financial services. These include the likes of HSBC, Barclays and Citigroup. While the area has a host of luxurious restaurants designed to impress, you could easily find yourself waiting in a 25-minute queue for Garbanzos, a popular falafel truck outside the station. (Trust us, it’s worth the wait).

For something meatier, The Big Easy is a bar-BQ and crab shack with enough bass guitar and red light to make you think you’re in a rock film. For something more oriental, ROKA serves fantastic sushi alongside an open grill kitchen.

If you already know that you want office space in Canary Wharf, speak to the Knight Frank Flexible Office Team to kickstart your search. Our service is entirely free.

But if you still need some insight into the area, here are seven things you probably didn’t know about Canary Wharf.

7 things you didn't know about Canary Wharf

More people Google office space in Canary Wharf than they Google Area 51

Well, kind of. On average, people Google “office space in Canary Wharf” (and other related queries) around 11,200 times each month. That’s 52% more than the number of times people searched for “area 51 event” in July (7,900 times) for the widely publicised plan to raid Area 51 in the US.

Some searches are pretty standard like “office space Canary Wharf” and “offices to rent Canary Wharf”, while others seem slightly more novel – like “virtual office Canary Wharf”. Despite sounding futuristic, a virtual office is just a way to steal a desirable postcode without having to actually rent an office there – proving the in-demand postcode value of the area.

There are so many reasons why businesses want to rent coworking or serviced office space in Canary Wharf. They’ll be close to major financial institutions as well as beautiful water views, running parallel to riverside bars with a buzz. Canary Wharf also has great transport links – it's 10 minutes by DLR to the City and 15 minutes on the Jubilee Line to Mayfair.

Amanda Lim

Head of Flexible Office Solutions

The number of people working in Canary Wharf is set to double in 10 years

Today, Canary Wharf has a working population of 120,000. But that’s set to double. By the late 2020s, it’s expected to reach 240,000. Here’s why: Canary Wharf offers more economic office space compared to its western counterparts.

Earlier this year, Knight Frank reported that prime headline office rent in Canary Wharf was £49.50 per square foot. In the City, you’re looking at £72.50 per square foot and in the West End, you’re looking at £107 per square foot. In terms of availability, there’s almost 2 million square feet of office space due to complete by the end of 2022.

But demand is so high that around 52% of this is already either pre-let, or under offer.

Canary Wharf has 208 football pitches of retail and office space

In total, Canary Wharf has 16,000,000 square feet of office and retail space. Assuming a football pitch is 76,854 square feet (7,140 square metres), that’s 208 football pitches of space, divided up and stacked on top of one another.

Llamas are an eight-minute drive away

Despite being an urban jungle packed with towering skyscrapers, Canary Wharf actually neighbours Mudchute Park and Farm – which was formerly a piece of derelict land from dredging Millwall Dock.

Now, the park’s 32 acres of green space is open to the public and includes a local nature reserve. As well as Llamas, you can find aviary birds, donkeys, goats and sheep.

Canary Wharf is just 10 minutes away from the City by DLR and 15 minutes to Mayfair via the Jubilee Line.

You can get a free short story for your commute

The Short Story Dispenser, invented by Short Édition, enjoyed its UK debut in Canary Wharf.

Like a literature vending machine, all you have to do is select the length of your short story (one, three or five minutes) and the machine will generate a printed copy on eco-paper.

The content is sourced from both old and new writers and genres range from science-fiction to romance to crime.

The most common job titles in Canary Wharf are…

Interestingly, two of the most common job titles in Canary Wharf are Personal Assistant and Executive Assistant.

This might sound confusing at first, but it just goes to show how many ‘C-Suite’ and ‘Heads Of’ positions in need of a PA are based in the area.

But not all jobs in Canary Wharf are office-based. You can find jobs as a Fragrance Assistant, a Room Leader in a nursery and a Wine Advisor. (Sign us up).

The average salary in Canary Wharf is…

The average worker in Canary Wharf earns £100,000. This comes as no surprise considering it’s the City’s financial sister.

Still curious about the area? Take a look at this area guide to office space in Canary Wharf. To enquire about coworking space in Canary Wharf or serviced offices in Canary Wharf, get in touch with a member of our team.

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