Member Article

Verizon to ‘bridge the gap’ between SMEs and big business with new Clerkenwell facility

Global tech firm Verizon is to open a new co-working facility housed within its offices in Clerkenwell that will attempt to encourage more cross-pollination between the capital’s SMEs and big business.

The new co-working site, which has been designed in cooperation with co-working space provider Work.Life, will open this April following a £1.2m refurbishment at Verizon’s London base.

Building on the ‘under one-roof’ strategy developed at its first co-working project in New York, the workspace will foster face-to-face collaboration between Verizon, its big customers and SMEs in an attempt to develop ‘deeper business value’ from the booming co-working trend.

Tony Judd, Managing Director for Verizon in the UK said the initiatve would help the firm harness ‘entrepreneurial’ and ‘innovative’ businesses that have become a key part of the service-based ‘new economy’.

He added: “We see this co-working agreement as a great opportunity for spotting innovation and accelerating it to market, for helping individual ideas to grow, and for shaping new threads of collaboration with the residents of the space.

“It is a great way to breathe new life into our existing site, opening its doors to a new audience and transforming it into a centre of innovation and collaboration.”

The new Verizon project will also be Work.Life’s fourth co-working site in the capital, adding to current facilities at Camden, London Fields and Bermondsey, where businesses and entrepreneurs can rent space from £3.50 per hour.

Work.Life founders, David Kosky and Elliot Gold, commented: “There is a commonality between the two businesses that recognises the power of human connection in the new working economy.

“We already place the personal touch at the heart of what we do, so our 1000+ members can get a genuine buzz out of coming to work and actually look forward to Monday’s.

“By providing access to a global leader in digital thinking, we are now helping to provide the high-level connections, advice and insight each of our members is looking for.”

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