{"id":17588,"date":"2026-04-20T07:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/17588\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T07:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:53:10","slug":"uk-bets-on-east-london-hub-to-anchor-next-phase-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/17588\/","title":{"rendered":"UK bets on East London hub to anchor next phase of innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\tSunday 19 April 2026 2:41 pm\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"Here\t\tThe campus reflects a broader shift in UK innovation policy\t<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s push to build a more joined-up innovation economy is increasingly being anchored in east London, where Here East has turned into one of the country\u2019s largest multi-sector tech campuses.<\/p>\n

Set within the former Olympic press and broadcast centre in Stratford, the 1.2m sq ft site aims to bring various universities, startups, corporates and creative industries under one roof.<\/p>\n

More than 6,500 people now work and study on site across over 30 organisations, with Oxford Economics estimating the campus supports more than 10,000 jobs nationwide.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Gavin Poole said the model is built around enabling companies to scale within a single ecosystem rather than relocating as they grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies basically look for growth, and we give them the opportunity to grow,\u201d he told City AM. <\/p>\n

Demand for space is also accelerating as activity in the wider tech and property markets picks up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re struggling since March to keep the numbers down,\u201d Poole said. \u201cSince February things have started to speed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Startups and industry in the same space<\/p>\n

The campus reflects a broader shift in UK innovation policy towards clustering, placing research institutions, universities, early-stage companies and large firms in close proximity in a plea to drive collaboration.<\/p>\n

At Here East, that plays out across a mix of academic labs, production studios and commercial offices, as well as more creative spaces.<\/p>\n

University facilities from UCL and Loughborough focus on areas like robotics or advanced manufacturing, while nearby, startups are working on everything from medical devices to film technology.<\/p>\n

One founder developing surgical robotics on site told City AM: \u201cWe\u2019re pre-clinical at the moment, we\u2019ve done animals, but this summer we\u2019ll be doing humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alongside research-led ventures, creative and media businesses are also expanding on the campus.<\/p>\n

Hawk, the video production startup behind films like The Running Man, began with a small team, but has scaled its operations at Here East as demand for production infrastructure has grown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a startup. It\u2019s the same with every startup, you sit there going: where do we put the money?\u201d the founder told City AM. <\/p>\n

Here East\u2019s aim has been to lower barriers to that growth, including offering ready-to-use space and flexibility on expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is we\u2019ve given a startup 12,000 square feet of workspace, hoping that they\u2019ll hit the jackpot,\u201d Poole said. \u201cIf it goes wrong, it\u2019s not a massive deal\u2026 we\u2019ll just take it back and lease it to someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the centre of the campus is Plexal, the innovation hub that connects startups with corporates and government-backed programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hub for member organisations, everything from small startups to some much larger corporate partners,\u201d Poole said. \u201cBanks like Barclays have space here for their innovation teams to get in touch with what\u2019s happening in the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site is also expanding its education and creative footprint. NABA, Italy\u2019s largest Academy of Fine Arts, is opening its first campus outside Italy at Here East, joining five universities already based there.<\/p>\n

Poole said: \u201cLondon has long been a global point of reference for fashion design, artistic and creative education, and East London is a key driver of the sector\u2019s growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

With further initiatives planned around immersive technology and the experience economy, Here East is becoming as a central node in the UK\u2019s attempt to build a more integrated innovation system.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tPeople & Organisations\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sunday 19 April 2026 2:41 pm The campus reflects a broader shift in UK innovation policy The UK\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[633,8112,3622,7672,27,18,8113,8114,8115,8116,1422,8117],"class_list":{"0":"post-17588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-business-growth-innovation-business-strategy-opportunity-future-growth-business-development-growth-mindset","10":"tag-east-london","11":"tag-founder","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-scale-up","15":"tag-start-up","16":"tag-tech-sector","17":"tag-uk-talent","18":"tag-uk-tech","19":"tag-university"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116435956709615355","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}