Google opens Campus's doors in London

Google has opened the doors of its start-up incubator, called Campus, based in the 'Silicon roundabout' area of Old Street, London.

The seven-storey building will serve as a "co-working and events space" in the heart of London's 'Tech City' in Old Street. The scheme is run by Google with support from other partners experienced in nurturing start-ups such as Seedcamp, Springboard, Central Working and Tech Hub.

The building was opened by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on Thursday.

"Philosophically, this government doesn't believe that you can click your fingers and create a technology cluster in a top down way. Wherever possible, our approach is to go with the grain of what's already happening, and help good things to expand and grow," Osborne said. "Over the past 18 months, Tech City has gone from strength to strength."

Campus's primary function will be to provide office space to start-ups, but it will also host events, and run a mentoring programme, which will include Google staff "sharing their expertise", the company said.

Campus is already 90-percent occupied, with more than 60 permanent residents on-site, and 4,500 registered users.

Non-resident registered members of Campus will be able to access the cafe and co-working space on the lower-ground floor, and will have free access to Campus's high speed Wi-Fi network.