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Heard a rumour Google's setting up shop in that massive building behind King's Cross. Truth or urban legend?
yeah it's real, they've been leasing space in that building for a while now. the whole thing is called the google academy house or something, but it's not all theirs. tri-v something like the other person said, it's a joint venture with hmrc and some other tenants
honestly the construction timeline keeps slipping. i walk past it every day and it's been a mess for years. last i heard they're aiming for late 2025 now but i wouldn't hold my breath. the scaffolding is a pain but at least the new plaza out front will be nice when it's done
it's definitely real, google's been expanding around king's cross for a minute now. the new building is called google academy house but they're only taking about half of it, hmrc is moving in too which is why it's taking forever. i live nearby and the construction noise is a nightmare, but apparently the delays are partly because they kept changing the design for the ground floor retail space. heard from a friend in the industry that they're now saying late 2025 at the earliest, maybe even 2026 if the supply chain issues keep up. the scaffolding situation is brutal but at least the new cycle lanes on york way are finally open
not a rumour, google's been in that area for years already. they have a big office just down the road on pentonville road, plus another one near baker street. the new building behind king's cross is actually going to be their uk hq, but they're not taking all of it. it's a joint thing with some other companies, tri-v something or other i think. honestly the construction has been a nightmare for ages, feels like that whole stretch has been scaffolding forever. last i heard they're aiming for early 2025 to finish but with the delays who knows
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What are some innovative ways to anonymously compare rental prices in a city?
SpareRoom's "rooms wanted" ads are underrated for this. people post what they're currently paying alongside what they want next, so you can scrape a rough sense of going rates by postcode without anyone knowing you looked. it skews young and flatshare heavy tho, so not much use if you're after 2-beds in zone 2.
Another one is just the depozit or tenancy deposit scheme data. not public-facing, but your council's housing officer can tell you median rents from deposit registrations if you email them under FOI. takes weeks, but its proper anon and nobody clocks u.
Rightmove and Zoopla only show asking rents, which are often 10 to 15 percent above what a place actually goes for, so they're a poor benchmark. The trick I've used is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which breaks things down to borough level and is genuinely anonymous since it's aggregate data, no listing or account needed. For something more granular, the London Renters Union runs a rent reporting tool where you submit what you're paying with your postcode and it maps it against others nearby, though the coverage is patchy outside the inner boroughs.
the openrent "rent check" thing is decent for zones 3-4 where the unions tool barely reaches. also worth checking the london.gov.uk planning portal for new build applications, they list "affordable" and market rent figures per unit in the viability assessments, which is basically the developer telling the council what they expect to charge. bit of a faff to dig through but its public, anonymous & nobody knows ur looking