TikTok leases new London office following UK-China tech spat

TikTok has agreed to lease a new London office building months after a spat between the UK and China threatened to derail its expansion.

The company is still looking for a larger office in Dublin, Bloomberg reported last month. (REUTERS)

TikTok, the social media company owned by China's ByteDance Ltd, has agreed to lease a new London office building months after a spat between the U.K. and China threatened to derail its expansion.

The firm has signed a 15-year lease for the 88,500 square foot (8,200 square meters) Kaleidoscope building in Farringdon, according to a statement from developer Helical Plc. The property was built above London's still unfinished Crossrail train line and boasts a 5,000 square foot roof terrace.

Tensions over the U.K.'s decision to limit the use of Huawei Technologies Co. products in the country's 5G infrastructure prompted TikTok to end talks for a global headquarters in Britain, the Sunday Times said in July. A U.K. government review into the social media company was likely to impose some restrictions on its activities but stop short of labelling it a similar threat to Huawei, Bloomberg reported in August.

A TikTok spokesman declined to comment further on the office lease. The company is still looking for a larger office in Dublin, Bloomberg reported last month.