Facebook has opened its brand new office in central London, creating 800 jobs in the process.
The social media giant’s new premises will house the company’s biggest engineering team outside of the US, and also hosts the LDN LAB, a new incubator for start-ups.
Facebook first arrived in London 10 years ago, and the new addition will take its total UK workforce up to 2,300 by the end of 2018.
The 247,000 square foot office, which opened on Monday, is on Rathbone Place, just off bustling Oxford Street in central London.
Designed by the architect Frank Gehry, it includes seven floors and a new public square called Rathbone Square.
Chancellor Philip Hammond was among those on hand for the opening of the new space.
Among the Facebook programs that will be worked on inside the office is Workplace, the offshoot of Facebook designed for businesses and their staff.
Workplace was first conceived and built in London before launching in 2015 and is used by companies such as Virgin Atlantic and Deliveroo.
Facebook said the new office will also be the site for some work on its Oculus virtual reality platform, including some of the social aspects of the technology.
The new LDN_LAB will constantly host several start-ups, with Facebook offering advice and guidance on how to launch and grow their business.
Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president for Facebook Europe, Middle East and Asia, said the announcement showed that Facebook “is more committed than ever to the UK” as the country gets ready to leave the EU.
She added: “The UK’s flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem and international reputation for engineering excellence makes it one of the best places in the world to build a tech company.
“And we’ve built our company here – this country has been a huge part of Facebook’s story over the past decade, and I look forward to continuing our work to achieve our mission of bringing the world closer together.”
