A record 800 start-up enterprises have now signed up to a co-working “innovation” centre set up as east London’s Olympic legacy.

The Plexal shared workspace centre is marking its fourth anniversary this month, having now helped 175 start-ups get off the ground since it opened in the Olympic Park's Here East campus in July 2017.

“It was intended to be the nerve centre for Here East when it was first thought up in the Olympics legacy," Plexal’s managing director Andrew Roughan explained. "The impact would be local to east London as well as national and international. We now have a start-up community working with global tech giants addressing the biggest social challenges facing the country.”

Hackney Gazette: Plexal's Olympic Park innovations centrePlexal's Olympic Park innovations centre (Image: Sean Pollock)

Its membership has shot up by 15 per cent in the past 12 months alone — through the pandemic — acting as a bridge with the government and large organisations to solve economic issues.

Plexal's "accelerator" of start-ups has helped 72 businesses earn £37m for the economy and secured £200m investments.

Hackney Gazette: 800 start-ups have signed up to Plexal's co-working 'innovation' centre as east London’s Olympic legacy.800 start-ups have signed up to Plexal's co-working 'innovation' centre as east London’s Olympic legacy. (Image: Sean Pollock)