Olympic Park Legacy Company Looking for Bidders to Purchase Press Centre & Broadcast Centre

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) have opened up the floor to bidders wanting to takeover the Main Press Centre (MPC) and International Broadcast Centre (IBC) after the London 2012 Games.

The two giant facilities offer around one million square foot of flexible business space on the Olympic Park in Stratford and will house thousands of the world’s top accredited print and broadcast journalists during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The MPC and IBC are adjacent to the creative district of Hackney Wick and within the newly named East Wick area while interested parties, from start-ups to established global companies, have nine weeks to submit their proposals for the two venues.

Andrew Altman, the chief executive of the OPLC, said: “The Press and Broadcast Centres have already generated a huge amount of commercial interest and we are excited to see what bids come forward. Now is the time for businesses to take up this unique offer and become part of what will be a thriving centre for enterprise and innovation in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s first commercial space.”

The five storey MPC will provide around 317,000 square foot of office space with the potential for retail uses on the ground floor while the IBC will offer 95,000 square foot of office space over five floors and 575,000 square foot of commercial space over two floors but it has the flexibility to be reconfigured into four separate buildings.

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for businesses of all sizes to be part of the foundations of this new commercial district. This is a chance to grab a strategic advantage by being there from the start. The unrivalled location combines the innovative and creative energy for which east London is already famous, with the world-beating profile and setting of the Olympic Park. This is a unique opportunity for any company that wants to be part of something special.”

The MPC and IBC are a fundamental part of the OPLC’s vision to create a mixed use commercial district that will generate employment at a range of levels covering a broad spectrum of skills and opportunities for local businesses.

Following the end of the bidding process on December 2 this year, the OPLC will review submissions before shortlisting potential occupiers in February 2012. The buildings are due to be available for fit out and opening from spring 2013.

“Thousands of media from across the world will use these fantastic facilities during the Games,” added the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

“But once the sporting action has ended, these centres will become the heart of a new creative high-tech quarter for our capital.”