TikTok leases New London office following UK-China tech spat

[LONDON] TikTok, the social media company owned by China's ByteDance, has agreed to lease a new London office building months after a spat between the UK and China threatened to derail its expansion.

The firm has signed a 15-year lease for the 88,500 square foot Kaleidoscope building in Farringdon, according to a statement from developer Helical Plc. The property was built above London's still unfinished Crossrail train line and boasts a 5,000 square foot roof terrace.

Tensions over the UK's decision to limit the use of Huawei Technologies products in the country's 5G infrastructure prompted TikTok to end talks for a global headquarters in Britain, the Sunday Times said in July. A UK government review into the social media company was likely to impose some restrictions on its activities but stop short of labeling it a similar threat to Huawei, Bloomberg reported in August.

A TikTok spokesman declined to comment further on the office lease. The company is still looking for a larger office in Dublin, Bloomberg reported last month.

BLOOMBERG