The number of coworking spaces in the UK and Ireland has reached a new peak, according to new industry data, signalling the continuing shift in how offices are being used. Data from CoworkingCafe’s third quarter 2025 report show around 4,315 coworking locations across the region, of which approximately 4,048 are in the UK and 267 in Ireland. In the UK the distribution is heavily concentrated in major urban centres. Greater London alone hosts roughly 1,191 coworking sites. Manchester follows as a leading regional hub with around 120 spaces, while Glasgow and Birmingham also show significant numbers at 68 and 67 respectively. (more…)

Mitsubishi Estate has announced plans to invest £800 million in the redevelopment of the former ITV Studios site on London’s South Bank, a project that is expected to create 4,000 jobs and provide significant new space for the capital’s creative industries. The Japanese developer will deliver a 600,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme, to be called Vista, which will combine offices, studios, galleries and exhibition areas. As part of the development, 40,000 sq ft has been allocated as affordable workspace for creative businesses, a measure intended to support start-ups and smaller firms in the sector.

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Fintech firm Revolut has announced the opening of its new global headquarters in Canary Wharf, in a week that has seen more than £110 billion committed to the UK financial services sector. The company confirmed it will invest £3 billion over the next five years and create around 1,000 new skilled jobs. (more…)

University College London (UCL) has taken a 10-year lease on 40,000 sq ft of office space at Maple House, strengthening its relationship with investor and developer Lazari. The deal, one of the largest lettings in Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia this year, adds to the university’s extensive estate, which spans 6.5 million sq ft and makes it the single biggest occupier in Bloomsbury. The lease covers three floors within Maple House, part of Lazari’s Tottenham Court Road estate, which is undergoing a £55 million redevelopment. Originally designed in the 1970s by Richard Seifert, the granite-clad brutalist block is being modernised to deliver 110,000 sq ft of workspace across seven floors alongside residential, leisure and retail uses. A one-acre communal garden at first floor level, containing more than 90 trees, will form the centrepiece of the scheme. (more…)

Ten projects from eight countries across the EMEA region have been announced as the finalists in the sixth annual Urban Land Institute Europe Awards for Excellence, which recognise exemplar projects and programmes in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. This year’s finalists comprise cutting edge refurbishment, restoration and new build projects, and include residential, healthcare, mixed use, education, community, laboratory and office projects from Italy, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, France and Spain.    (more…)

US pharmaceutical company Merck, known as MSD in Europe, has withdrawn a planned £1 billion investment in a new discovery centre in London, citing the UK’s challenging environment for life sciences. The decision will result in the closure of discovery research operations in the country and the loss of 125 jobs, although other research activities will continue. The facility, a 25,000 square foot headquarters in the Knowledge Quarter near King’s Cross, had been under construction and was due to open in 2027. The cancellation comes at a time when the government has identified life sciences as a key growth sector in its industrial strategy, with ambitions to make the UK Europe’s leading life sciences economy by 2030 and the third most significant globally by 2035. (more…)