LEVEL39 CELEBRATES CREATING WORLD CLASS LONDON TECH CLUSTER IN JUST 12 MONTHS

Today Level39 celebrates its first anniversary. The technology accelerator has so far helped 86 financial, retail and future cities technology companies grow over 12 months, creating an internationally recognised technology cluster in Canary Wharf and an acknowledged home for FinTech in Europe.

Level39 (29,000 sq ft) was conceived and established by Canary Wharf Group plc to offer growing tech businesses unrivalled access to office, event and social facilities, plus introductions to over 340 leading industry figures comprising customers, partners, mentors, talent and investors. It has become London’s predominant community for financial technology innovation and is growing as a centre for retail and future cities technology.

Since its official opening by Mayor of London Boris Johnson a year ago, Level39 has received over 682 applications for membership from technology companies internationally. Following this high demand of applicants and the success of the high growth companies, Canary Wharf Group plc opened the High Growth Space (15,000 sq ft) on the forty-second floor of One Canada Square last year, just six months after launching Level39. The first members of the High Growth Space were all graduates of Level39 who have since been joined by a further five technology companies – London Brand Management, Kusiri, Pirean, Meniga and Recipco – with the Group in discussions with a further 10 technology businesses.

The success of the Group’s accelerator model, designed to nurture growing technology companies to become occupiers at Canary Wharf, yielded its first result with Pirean, a Level39 and now High Growth Space graduate that has transitioned into a fully-fledged tenant in under a year. The Identity and Access Management (IAM) Company signed a five-year lease for 2,259 sq ft on the 34th floor of One Canada Square last week.

Level39 has also played host to over 30,000 visitors, 200 events including the 3DFintech Challenge sponsored by Dassault Systemes, Wired’s Future Money Conference, PayPal’s Battlehack and international delegations including the Swedish royal couple, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang, and the US embassy.

To celebrate the one year anniversary, Head of Level39, Eric Van der Kleij, will be hosting a ‘fireside chat’ with Gerard Grech the new Tech City UK CEO at Level39 on his approach to the role and his plans for listening to and understanding the needs of the UK’s tech entrepreneurs and digital business builders.

Eric Van der Kleij, Head of Level39, said:

“The Group’s vision for Level39 was to help high-potential tech companies grow in an optimum environment, with the guidance of our industry mentors. The demand we have seen at Level39, the High Growth Space and at Canary Wharf has been overwhelming. It reinforces London’s strength as a network of specialist clusters. At Canary Wharf we are focused on maintaining our momentum into the next year and helping support the next leaders in financial, retail and future city technology.”

Gerard Grech, Tech City UK CEO adds:

“All over London and across the UK, traditional industries are being reinvigorated through the power  of technology. Level39 is a fantastic example of what happens when an established sector like finance embraces digital technology. My priority is to garner the opinions of the digital entrepreneurs and business builders that are diversifying the UK economy, creating jobs and ultimately driving growth, and to understand how government and Tech City UK can best support them.”

Alastair Paterson, Co-Founder of Digital Shadows, Level39 and High Growth Space member comments:

“Digital Shadows were one of the first companies to become members of Level39, and six months later we became the first team to put down roots on the High Growth Space. We had a fantastic 2013, and Level39 provided the perfect launch pad for us to engage with the many tier-1 banks who we now count as clients. We made a lot of genuinely useful connections and friendships at Level39, our team enjoy the environment here, and hats off to the Canary Wharf Group for their flexibility in accommodating our rapid growth as it continues into 2014 and beyond.”