RBS and RocketSpace to open co-working space in London for high-growth tech startups

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and RocketSpace plan to open a co-working space in London in early 2017. Announcing this, the San Francisco workspace provider said this would be designed specifically for high-growth tech startups.

This will be RocketSpace's first location outside the US and will come with state-of-the-art facilities such as a multi-gigabit internet connection, cafe, collaborative workspaces and a large event space. The new workspace or campus will be able to accommodate 1,500 members, who will get access to various services such as workshops, peer group roundtables, trend talks and networking events.

The new workspace will be very close to Angel Tube station and is currently occupied by RBS, the development partner of the workspace. Like the San Francisco workspace, in London too, RocketSpace will provide space for teams of 1 to 100 people and will focus on tech startups that have raised funds. The London members will also be provided access to leading global corporations, including the company's clients such as Tata Communications, Axel-Springer, Lufthansa Cargo and Schneider Electric.

Apart from London members benefiting from the move, the company's Silicon Valley members too will gain with the opening of a London workspace. "Our American clients view London as a gateway to Europe so this is also an opportunity for us to help them build their companies." Duncan Logan, chief executive of RocketSpace explained.

"London's tech community continues to rapidly expand and drive innovation. Creating a physical presence here is critical to our expansion strategy and mission to build an ecosystem for innovation to thrive, across a global network of campuses," Logan added.

Simon McNamara, Chief Administrative Officer of RBS, said: "It's a real testament to the UK's thriving tech community that a pioneering company like RocketSpace has chosen the UK as their first office outside of the US. We recognise that the technology industry will be a key growth area for the UK in the coming years so we are delighted to play a part in helping RocketSpace locate here, as we aim to build stronger links with innovative startups."

RocketSpace was launched in 2011. Since then, it has housed more than 750 startups and 16 unicorns such as Uber, Blippar, SuperCell and Spotify.