Revealed: the best cities in Europe for tech entrepreneurs to launch a start up in
Global nomads — those highly mobile Europeans who change their homes almost as often as their socks — are changing workplaces, too.
These creatives crave innovation, many working in tech industries or start-up clusters.
This July the world’s largest start-up campus opened in a former rail depot in Paris. French Telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel invested £200 million in Station F with significant support from President Macron’s government.
The once derelict building in the 13th arrondissement now has 366,000sq ft of contemporary space where workers can rent one of 3,000 desks from £170 a month and benefit from a shared “ecosystem of entrepreneurs”.
Paris property prices rival London’s however, so while Station F has certainly announced the French capital on the start-up map, it’s not yet first choice for most would-be entrepreneurs.
LISBON: WEB CENTRAL
The Portuguese capital has successfully wooed the start-up crowd for years.
In November it hosts the annual Web Summit, the largest tech conference worldwide, and the Portuguese government has joined in, offering a 10-year tax-free welcome to existing businesses.
Beato beside the Tagus River is home to Factory Lisbon, a start-up campus due to open next year bigger than Paris’s Station F.
Less than three miles away in Baixa, central Lisbon, Arco Augusta is a new renovation project with 28 studio to two-bedroom apartments.
Homes of 570sq ft to 1,475sq ft in the historic building are priced from £373,500 to £790,000.
Athena Advisers (athenaadvisers.com) is also selling studio to two-bedroom apartments at Largo 57 in Intendente, close to Baixa and Chiado, both on-trend areas of Lisbon, priced from £190,000 to £660,000.
Lucy Crook, 32, is at the forefront of Lisbon’s tech boom, running Second Home Lisboa (secondhome.io) a shared workspace and cultural venue on the top floor of the city’s traditional Mercado da Ribeira.
It was the second space to open after the Spitalfields HQ and has more than 350 members, half of them international.
“Second Home is a very dynamic place with a palpable energy and optimism,” says Crook, right. “Many young international entrepreneurs and creatives are basing themselves here as living costs are lower, so if you’re launching your own business the risks are lower than London.
"We live in Principe Real and love the neighbourhood. Our street is quiet yet within five minutes’ walk we have all the best restaurants, a beautiful park and an organic farmers’ market.
"Property prices have hopped up considerably in the last 18 months as everyone wakes up to Lisbon’s appeal, but still feel a lot better value than London.”
BERLIN: TECH HUB
Germany’s first tech campus, Factory Berlin, opened in 2012 bringing together 30 firms including Uber, Twitter and Soundcloud in renovated buildings by the Berlin Wall.
The city has been trying to lure London start-ups, boasting affordability and the wide use of English as the language of business.
Property options include Box 7,450 homes close to Friedrichshain, where prices through Knight Frank (knightfrank.com) start from £350,000 for two and three bedrooms based around beautiful, gardens minutes from Berlin’s buzz.
Wohnpanorama in on-trend Kreuzberg will have 92 one- to four-bedroom apartments next to a park with excellent transport links.
Homes start from £240,500 with completion planned for 2020.