The South Bank is where tourists and Londoners alike gravitate when they want to feel like they’re in the heart of things. Cultural landmarks line the bank like the National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall and the Southbank Centre.
It has great links across the country – Waterloo station is the busiest in Britain.
But behind all that (and in between), it’s a hive of industry. In recent years, we’ve seen advertising agencies and news corporations take up space here, putting the South Bank firmly on our map as a core business district – not just a place to ogle the London Eye.
In 2017, Kraft Heinz relocated from Hayes in Middlesex and opened a new European HQ in The Shard. The American IT company IBM is based in a South Bank office building designed by Denys Lasdun, who was also the National Theatre’s architect. News UK (publishers of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun) crossed the Thames from Wapping to London Bridge in 2014.
No one expects the pub at Shakespeare’s Globe to be any good – tourists will always drink there anyway. But the Swan at the Globe is secretly a great place to become a regular. Take clients from out-of-town to the restaurant upstairs to woo them with the views, or have your brainstorms at the long benches in the downstairs pub. Or, there are private meeting rooms for more formal meetings, and the staff are as helpful with tech as they are with snacks. Right by Borough Market, The Market Porter is a brilliant green-and-brick London boozer – a good one for spilling out on to the pavement when the sun shines.
We’ll grab a Caravan coffee pretty much whenever we see (and sniff) one, but Caravan Bankside is a particularly good spot to know. Just behind the main South Bank drag, the space has high ceilings and natural light and you’ll eat way better here than you will at most of the chains on the river. If you’ve got a big, motley team to feed with all different dietary requirements, this covers all bases. There are lots of great spots on Bermondsey Street, too (tapas at Jose, rice bowls at Omoide, steak and roast potatoes at Casse-Croûte), but we find nothing hits the spot for a working lunch like Franco Manca. The pizzas are fantastic and the prices are unbeatable – it’s a team lunch crowdpleaser.
Coworkers will tell you about the rainforest showers and shiny copper lockers (and probably post them on Instagram) but 1Rebel is definitely not style over substance. You can book classes online with trainers at the top of their game (some of whom are Insta-famous themselves). Classes come in three shapes: Reshape (high-intensity classes across treadmills and benches), Rumble (boxing fitness) and Ride (spinning), with plenty of pre and post-workday options. Or, if you fancy something floatier, 3Tribes Borough offers hot yoga, barre and floatation therapy.
Royal Festival Hall – South Bank connects you to culture
1Rebel – Body culture, too
Instagram-famous instructors and rainforest showers await you
Get inspired at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Or the National Theatre
Healthy body, healthy mind at 3 Tribes
The Swan at the Globe
AVERAGE
£510
Private office
£508
Fixed desks
£361
Hot desks
Want to see what the wider neighbourhood has to offer? Why not read our guides for the nearby areas.
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