Islington Office Space

Islington office space can refer to business accommodation within the district or the wider London borough.

The borough is the second smallest borough in London and the third smallest district in England, yet it is the most densely populated borough in the United Kingdom.

The manor of Islington was named Giseldone by the Saxons in 1005, which came from Old English, meaning Gisla’s hill. This mutated to Gisladune and then Isledon, which lasted until the 17th century, when it was changed to its modern form.

Situated in North London, development is concentrated around Islington High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road and Southgate Street.

Islington High Street runs approximately 0.31 miles (500 metres) from the intersection of Pentonville Road and City Road at the south end to Islington Green at the north end, where it branches into Upper Street and Essex Road.

The earliest reference to its High Street appears on a 1590 map. At that time, nine inns were on the street, including the famous Angel, which subsequently gave its name to the area around Islington High Street and later, in 1901, to its underground tube station.

Islington was historically somewhat of a recreational district. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the manor became a popular excursion destination, attracting visitors to the area with its rural feel. It had a good supply of water and was used for growing crops.

Therefore, many public houses were built to serve the needs of the excursionists, and by 1716, there were over 50 ale-house keepers in Upper Street. The area also offered tea gardens and activities such as archery, bowling, and skittle alleys.

Today, the district still has a city farm, and its Business Design Centre (BDC) has agricultural roots. The striking 3-storey listed property started as a farming show venue in 1862. The Post Office temporarily requisitioned it during the Second World War and fell into neglect following that. However, it was rescued from demolition in 1981 and was transformed into the UK’s first integrated trade, exhibition, and conference complex.

Islington remains a trendy and creative district. It offers a variety of fringe theatres, street markets, gig venues, boutique stores, and a large choice of bars and restaurants to satisfy the energetic population.

An eclectic range of occupiers from a diverse mix of sectors choose to occupy an equally diverse portfolio of office properties in the Islington office space market.

Several Grade A office buildings offer best-in-class office space, built sustainably and managed to meet their occupiers’ high ESG expectations.

A wide range of formerly residential and industrial properties has also been elegantly converted to provide modern office space. These period properties have been comprehensively yet sympathetically renovated and retrofitted to offer contemporary workspaces with state-of-the-art business infrastructure and ultramodern business and wellness amenities whilst retaining the character of the buildings.

Businesses can also choose how they wish to occupy office space in Islington. While renting office space via a conventional lease remains popular as it offers autonomy and control over fit-out and facilities management, flexible workspace options, including private serviced offices, managed office spaces, and other forms of flexibly leased offices, are becoming increasingly popular.

Private serviced offices are fully furnished, lockable office suites, clusters of suites, or floors. Clients of plug-and-play offices enjoy access to first-class communal amenities, including bookable meeting rooms, breakout spaces, fully stocked kitchens, focus booths, cafes, gyms and other shared facilities.

Managed offices are pre-cabled; however, the client leads the fit-out and furnishing process, meaning that a bespoke office with complete brand identity can be created.

Custom offices can include private reception areas, hot-desking zones, executive office suites, meeting rooms, break-out spaces, kitchens, bathrooms, showers, and other facilities.

The client can also create a tailored service pack that utilises the technical, hospitality, and business support teams’ services.

As flexible office spaces and workspaces are let by licence, occupying clients enjoy the agility to efficiently modify their footprint by downsizing or upsizing in line with changing business requirements. Many offices in Islington can provide space for 250 desks or more, which can be on a self-contained floor, several floors, or a building with its own front door.

Equally, clients can contract into a smaller suite in line with changing business needs.

Flexible office rent is all-inclusive, covering superfast broadband, heating, air conditioning, water, energy, professional cleaning, and other overheads that would be paid for and managed separately if leasing an office on conventional terms.

Islington’s premium office buildings, offering managed offices and serviced office space, are managed sustainably and ESG-consciously. These provide end-of-trip facilities for self-powered commuters, including bike storage, showers, lockers, and EV chargers.

However, clients enjoy excellent public transport links from Angel Station on Islington High Street, which has the longest escalator on the London Underground system, at 318 steps, and those from Essex Road, Kings Cross and St Pancras stations.