New search data shows that creative hubs like Soho are falling out of favour with SMEs and start-ups.

The 2018 data showed a 413 per cent surge in searches made on Hubble’s platform for flexible office space in London Bridge (29 per cent of searches). This makes the area, which boasts the Shard and Borough Market as key attractions, as more searched for than start-up darling Shoreditch (27 per cent of searches).

Advertising and media hub Soho saw its search market share plummet from 45.2 per cent in 2017 to 23.5 per cent in 2018 and Clerkenwell fell 24.7 per cent to just 2 per cent.

The data tracked over 340,000 searches by SMEs on the Hubble platform from April 2017- April 2018.

Start-ups are scaling up

Tushar Agarwal, Hubble’s co-founder and CEO said the data showed that the London start-up scene was maturing into a scale-up market.

He said, ‘UK businesses are increasingly comfortable to move to newer, developing areas. Once dominated by the public sector, the Southbank has become a truly diverse London market attracting tech and media Companies and corporates alike, including News International, Omnicom and Ogilvy. The introduction of the Crossrail and cheaper prices are likely fuelling the boom’

London Bridge station has recently increased its capacity and offers good transport links to residential areas south of the river such as New Cross Gate and Brockley, while London Bridge has seen high quality offices being built in recent years. AI/AR firm Blippar decided to move to London Bridge from Holborn back in 2015 as it secured £1.5 million in financing from Barclays.

It’s clear that SME’s have more choice than ever when it comes to deciding where to headquarter their business, a recent report showed that Manchester is increasingly popular with business owners, with cost and ease of operations cited as key factors.

Further reading on flexible offices

The rise of flexible working – Is it right for your business?