This week’s installment of The Coworking Diaries brought me to Regus’ business lounge in The News Building. Cue bright open workspaces and the BEST lunch break I’ve had in London thus far.
Tucked away beside its slightly older, much taller sibling, stands The News Building, an iconic structure in its own right. The News building – together with the Shard and Fielden House – unite to form The London Bridge Quarter, designed by the world-famous architect and engineer Renzo Piano.
The structure is home to all of News UK’s subsidiaries, including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and HarperCollins. Serviced Office provider Regus also own a floor in the building which they rent out to companies from many different industries, not just media.
If you’re looking for office space in a prominent, commutable location, this is ideal – and with the Shard next door, you don’t even need a map to find it…
Arriving at The News Building
As soon as I was through security (bag search and body scanner), I was greeted by friendly and informative receptionist/ community manager Mary, who proceeded to show me around the building. As you can imagine, there’s a professional air about the building – all the guests waiting in reception were suited and booted – yet this corporate feel stops at the lift. The workspace itself is relaxed, comfortable and contemporary.
The breakout area is conveniently situated next to the hotdesking area, making it perfect for informal meetings.
Meeting rooms can be booked by the hour and contain refreshments, as well as presentation equipment. The meeting room in the business lounge is free to use for occupiers.
A nice atmosphere
The floor is comprised of both private partitioned offices – a few of which are available to let now - and a Coworking business lounge with a mix of hotdesks and dedicated desks. The glass walls looking out in the direction of Borough Market fill the space with bucketloads of natural light, making it a very pleasant and relaxing place to work.
You can choose from private booths, bench desks and large circular desks. I chose the latter: even though there were a couple of coworkers engaging in a conversation opposite me I was still able to maintain concentration for a good two hours. Tea and coffee are free for occupiers and ‘fancier’ coffee/ snacks can be purchased.
Lunchtime – the best ever?
The first cool thing occurred when I entered the lift to go down – they play spoken word books (in this case, Agatha Christie) in the lift and a display the title/ author on a small screen. Kind of makes you want to stay in it to listen to the whole thing….
….But I didn’t and headed to Borough Market instead, where I treated myself to a pulled pork and stuffing wrap which was delicious.
The ever-bustling Borough Market:
Pssst… did you know we also list workspace in The Shard? Find out more here.
To digest, I took a walk down the Southbank to Tate Modern and had a speedy walk around.
I discovered a room of quotations by famous artists and philosophers:
I obviously like words, so you can imagine my delight in happening upon these two blokes selling poems written ad hoc for paying passers-by.
I only had a pound to spare…
The fun had to stop somewhere; however, you’ll be glad to know I spent the rest of the afternoon working from a very comfortable chair in the break out area and then went back to the market for a post-work bottled beverage.
If you’d like to take a look around The News Building, contact us and we’ll arrange a tour for you!
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