Where and What are the East London Business Hubs?

If you’re visiting London for work, then your company has probably made an informed decision into the area they are putting you up in. Whether you often work in the UK, or this is your first time visiting, hotels such as the London City Suites by Montcalm Chiswell Street cater fully for the business and corporate community. Whether it’s the fast WIFI, conference rooms or easy access to business hubs, Montcalm hotels are always a surefire hit, ensuring a wide variety of amenities suited perfectly to business travellers.

So, if you’re visiting East London for work, where are the most likely areas you’ll be visiting during your stay. London is an international business hub, and each area of the city has its own speciality, leading to a wide range of different visitors every week. Whether you’re here for a conference, trade show or simply a business meeting, here’s a rundown of all the business hubs you could find yourself visiting.

Hatton Garden

Hatton Garden is located in the easternmost area of Central London and is well known for its abundance of jewellers and diamond sellers. You can reach Hatton Garden via the Farringdon branch of the Circle, District, hammersmith and City line underground trains, or Chancery Lane on the Central Line.

History

As a historic residential area of Central London, Hatton Garden was developed in the latter half of the 17th century and named after Sir Christopher Hatton, a nobleman and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who bought the orchard of Ely Place based in the area. Naturally, like many parts of now popular central London districts, Hatton Garden became popular after Hatton developed it and gave its name to the area.

Businesses

Hatton Garden is most famous for its diamond and jewellery trade. With many independent antique traders and jewellery sellers, Hatton Garden has become one of the most popular areas for locals to buy and sell their jewellery, especially on the iconic Leather Lane market road. If you are in the antiques or diamond business, this is probably an area you’ll be likely to visit during your trip to London.

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is an area of the East London Docklands known as the Isle of Dogs. Famous for being one of the financial hubs of the city, Canary Wharf has easy access via the Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway, the station for which lies under it’s most famous building – One Canada Square. This business and retail skyscraper rises over the skyline of London with its distinctive pyramid-shaped top and provides one of the most iconic sites in London.

History

After the London Docklands closed in 1980, the government began plans to redevelop the area of the Isle of Dogs, focussing on building it up as a hub for the financial sector. With money coming through several internationally renowned corporate investors, One Canada Square was eventually completed in 1991 and became the tallest building in London until 2012, when the Shard beat it by

Businesses

London’s Canary Wharf district is home to a broad variety of businesses and meeting rooms in the City of London. The most prominent is HSBC, who owns the nearby 8 Canada Square skyscraper as their world headquarters. One Canada Square is occupied by a range of businesses, including the European Energy Exchange and the International Sugar Organisation, making it a hotspot for international banking.

London Docklands

The London docklands is a newly refurbished area of East London that once housed the East India Trading Company and many other shipping outlets. The Docklands has undergone refurbishment and is now a high end residential and business hub that is easy to reach for business and holiday travellers due to the nearby City Airport.

History

The London Docklands date back to the Roman era, and have been used throughout the medieval and Victorian era. Utilising the banks of the River Thames this area was redeveloped after the Blitz obliterated much of the Docklands during World War Two, and in the 60s’ and 70s’, shipping container transport became the dominant transport method for international import and export.

Businesses

Whilst the Docklands is no longer used for shipping, it has retained its name and paved the way for internet giants LINX, Many housing developers have also capitalised on the unused space previously used for shipping.

ExCeL Centre

Another mainstay of the Docklands is the ExCel Centre, a conference and showroom space that caters for hundreds of thousands of attendees with its huge hall. The ExCeL Centre has hosted the likes of the annual MCM Comic Convention and the WorldSkills London and the Defence Security and Equipment International showroom.

Old Street

Guests in Old Street have a broad range of services available in the surrounding area. From Montcalm Afternoon Tea to trendy nightclubs, Old street is not only a business sector but an entertainment and leisure hub as well. The easy access via the Northern Line Old street branch and proximity to Liverpool street station has made this Victorian-era slum into a wealthy and rapidly growing hub in East London.

History

Dating back to the Victorian era, Old Strete and the nearby Shoreditch were once home to Huegeunot migrant silk weavers and many warehouses and factories. Throughout the 20th century and after redevelopment from the devastation caused by the London Blitzz, the focus of Old Street quickly turned to the establishment of a business and entertainment hub in the guise of Brick Lane and Old Street. Nowadays guests will find a range of shopping locales, a collage of up and coming companies and a thriving international fashion and art scene.

Businesses

The junction of City Road has been nicknamed Silicon Roundabout on account of its attracting IT and tech companies in recent years. This sector of the business world is rapidly growing and has found a London home in offices around Old Street. With startups and established companies making their home here, Old Street had attracted over 10,000 companies by the year 2015.