Sports Interactive transfers to the Here East campus

Football Manager developer, Sports Interactive, is to move from its former home in London’s Shoreditch area to the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London.

In a move that is coincidentally similar to the one made by West Ham United football club*, the studio will move its 100 staff to the Here East technology campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, taking up over 13,000 square foot of space. The move will go ahead in Spring of 2018.

The new studio space will help the studio keep its ever-expanding business functions in one place, including development, research, and communications. It will also help the studio to work with external partners. Other companies invested in sports that have moved to the campus include bookmakers Ladbrokes Coral and broadcaster BT Sport, with which Sports Interactive has previously collaborated with. It also houses educational establishments with both Loughborough University London and UCL with a presence at the campus.

“We love the fact that Here East is right in the sweet spot where sport and technology meet," said Sports Interactive studio director, Miles Jacobson OBE. "We’re confident that our move to Here East will help us to shift our operations to the next level. The fact that we’re helping with the regeneration of the area, maintaining the Olympic legacy and giving our team a better chance to afford to live near the office are all added bonuses."

"Sports Interactive’s move epitomises the spread of London’s technology and creative sectors eastwards, out of their traditional homes in Shoreditch and Silicon Roundabout, and into new collaborative digital campuses such as Here East,” added Here East’s chief executive, Gavin Poole."

It’s a move that’s also been welcomed by local London government. "It’s fantastic news that Sports Interactive is choosing to relocate to Here East, which is fast becoming a leading technology and innovation hub in London," said the Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn. "Being based alongside other successful businesses and start-ups at Here East is a real open goal, presenting opportunities for collaboration on new ideas and products to grow quickly and contribute to London’s economy.”

*West Ham United moved from their previous ground, Upton Park, to the London Stadium (formerly the Olympic Stadium) at the Olympic Park in August 2016