Spain’s ‘Airbnb for long-term rentals’ taps King’s Cross as its new global headquarters

Spanish property tech startup Spotahome has picked out London’s King’s Cross as its new global headquarters, thanks to the UK’s reputation as a great source of highly-skilled digital talent.

Spotahome’s chief executive Alejandro Artacho told City A.M. that he believes the capital to be the best place to channel growth and take the business global.

“The talent pool in London is the best in Europe,” Artacho said. “We want to build a global company, and we’re putting our strength where the talent is.”

Spotahome provides an online booking platform for the mid- to long-term rental housing market, with the average booking being for a stay of around four months. The startup aims to stand out by providing 360-degree photos and video footage of every property on the platform, so users can see a property remotely with full confidence before booking.

The firm has hired former Hello Fresh senior vice president and Amazon head of product Balaji Nageswaran as its chief product officer, who will head up the new London office in King's Cross next year.

It has more than 300 staff to date in its Madrid office and other locations, which London is expected to surpass in a couple of years. Nageswaran said Spotahome will hire between 50 and 100 engineers in the city before the end of 2019.

Artacho said he is undaunted by the impact of Brexit, adding: “Nobody knows what is going to happen, but I think London is going to be a massive talent hub for years to come.”