The creators of Snapchat have chosen the UK as the location for its main international hub, thanks to its ‘strong creative industries’.
A new British firm, called Snap Group Ltd, has been established following the Snap Inc. rebrand of its parent company in the US.
Seen as a vote of confidence following the EU Referendum result, the move bucks the trend of tech firms choosing low-tax options such as Luxembourg or Ireland, like Apple and Facebook.
Snapchat’s new image focuses on attempts to ‘reinvent’ the camera, and what the brand descriobes as the “greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate”.
Claire Valoti, Snap’s UK general manager, said: “The UK is where our advertising clients are, where more than 10m daily Snapchatters are, and where we’ve already begun to hire talent.”
The California-based company is preparing for a £21bn stock market float and already has 75 staff members in the UK, growing from just 10 in less than a year.
Its current UK office is in the Soho area of London, and the new base will be nearby.
Snap Inc’s reinvention was supported by Spectacles – a pair of glasses with a built-in Wi-Fi camera, sold through custom-built vending machines around the US.
The gadget has been a hit among fans, despite its limited availability.