Its augmented reality app has taken the world by storm and now the firm behind Pokémon is looking to expand its real-world presence with a new office in London.
The Pokémon Company International, which manages the Pokémon brand and licensing outside Asia, has been involved in the creation of the Pokémon Go gaming app along with developer Niantic and Nintendo.
It currently occupies just under 10,000 sq ft at Building 4 in CIC’s Chiswick Park, which is managed by Blackstone.
However, Property Week understands that the company has launched a new requirement, with a view to more than doubling its current footprint to 25,000 sq ft.
The search is focused primarily on west London locations and is being handled by Hammersmith-based agent Frost Meadowcroft.
The planned expansion follows the global success of the Pokémon Go app, which was launched in July as a joint venture between The Pokémon Company and Niantic, and has already raised an estimated $250m (£190m) in revenue.
The Pokémon craze has also brought benefits for the retail world, with shopping centre owners and operators welcoming the crowds drawn in by the cartoon creatures that virtually lurk on their premises.
Hammerson has seen footfall spike after it started handing out portable mobile phone chargers enabling customers to carry on playing the game for longer, while CBRE GI has started a monthly ‘Pokémon Wednesday’ at its Ashley Centre in Epsom, buying in-game
‘lures’ every hour to maximise the number of Pokémon within its walls.
Whitbread’s Costa Coffee chain has reported a 30% increase in footfall for the first week after the game was released in the UK, as players were drawn in by its free Wi-Fi.
Canary Wharf Group has also created a Pokémon map of its premises, and is handing out gift cards to players who catch rare characters - as a result, one of the first players worldwide to catch all 145 Pokémon completed the feat in Canary Wharf.
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