Shaftesbury secures UK debut of global cyber café

Shaftesbury has announced international cyber café brand, Wanyoo Café, is to make its European debut at 77-79 Charing Cross Road in London’s West End, part of Shaftesbury’s Central Cross development.  Covering 5,330 sq ft across two floors and open from 10am until 10pm every day, the new Wanyoo Café will offer gamers in the capital an eSports gaming station, leisure areas and co-working spaces.  Wanyoo Café will open this winter.

Founded in Shanghai in 1998, Wanyoo Café has over 1,100 cyber cafés in more than 50 cities worldwide, primarily based in Asia, but also with locations in the United States, Australia and Canada.  The brand has selected Central Cross due to its position bordering Chinatown London to the west and its connectivity to Covent Garden, Soho and Leicester Square to the east.

Andrew Price, Asset Executive at Shaftesbury, commented: “Video gaming has become a community activity, attracting vast numbers of spectators and contributors seeking to enjoy a shared passion.  We have seen first-hand the immense popularity of Wanyoo Café in China, and are confident it will be a very successful addition to the capital’s line-up of unique leisure experiences. There is also a great synergy between Wanyoo Caféand how Chinatown London is evolving to reflect the fusion of the traditional and modern in the Far East.  Consequently, we are delighted the brand has selected this location for the first move of their European expansion plans.”

By 2019, it is estimated that 427 million people worldwide will be watching eSports.  The increasingly availability of online streaming media platforms such as Panda.tv, YouTube and Twitch.tv has become central to the growth and promotion of eSports competitions. The eSports market is experiencing a rapid growth with worldwide revenues in the eSports market expected to generate over $1.48 billion by 2020.

ZhaorongChen, Director at Wanyoo Café,added: “Located in the heart of London’s West End, this prime position on Charing Cross Road, at the crossroads where Chinatown London, Soho and Covent Garden meet, is perfect for our European debut, has great visibility and connectivity.  London has one of the world’s most diverse populations, and we are excited to welcome a whole new customer base to Wanyoo Café’s latest internet gaming flagship.”

The news also follows the recent announcement award-winning Sichuanese restaurant, JinLi, and casual noodle and dumpling concept, Modern Shanghai, will open new restaurants in Newport Place, located behind Wanyoo Café in Central Cross.

 ENDS

For further information please contact Amanda McNally or Charlotte Croker at Aver via amandamcnally@aver.uk.comor charlottecroker@aver.uk.com

Chinatown London

China is changing and traditional values are being complemented by new ideals and trends, inspired by other parts of the Far East and the West.  This is influencing what Chinese people and visitors expect in Chinatown.  Shaftesbury understands this and is experiencing directly the evolution of China, spending time in its cities to see, taste and hear what is happening first hand. 

Whilst inherently Chinese, under Shaftesbury’s long-term curation and partnership with the community, Chinatown is evolving to reflect the changes occurring in the Far East, creating is a mix of tradition and modernism that makes cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul some of the most exciting places in the world. 

中国城

中国正在经历翻天覆地的变化，而在东亚其它地区和西方的影响下，中国的许多传统价值也正在和新的理念与潮流相融合。这样的变化也在影响着中国人与其他地方游客对中国城的看法与期待。Shaftesbury对这样的趋势有着深刻的理解，而且也对中国的高速发展有着直接的体会。在过去的一段时间里，Shaftesbury的一些员工被派往中国，亲自去观看、去品尝、去倾听今天中国的脉搏。

 虽然伦敦中国城本质上还是中国传统的延伸，但在Shaftesbury长期的精心策划与管理下，并且在与当地社群的合作下，中国城正在成为反映亚洲巨变的一面镜子。如今，中国城和上海、北京、东京、首尔等等许多令人激动的亚洲城市一样，成为了一个传统与现代相互碰撞、相互融合的地方。

Shaftesbury 

Shaftesbury owns and manages a 15-acre property portfolio in the liveliest parts of London's West End.  Focused on restaurants, leisure and retail in the highly popular, sought-after and prosperous locations of Carnaby, Seven Dials and Chinatown, it also includes substantial ownerships in East and West Covent Garden, Soho and Fitzrovia.  

 The portfolio comprises nearly 600 shops, restaurants, cafésand pubs, extending to 1.1 million sq. ft., 593 apartments and 0.5 million sq. ft. of offices.  All our properties are close to the main West End Underground stations, which currently handle c 228m passenger’s p.a., and are within ten minutes’ walk of the two West End transport hubs for the Elizabeth Line, at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street, which projections indicate could be handling 200 million passengers annually by the mid-2020s.

有关Shaftesbury

Shaftesbury在伦敦最有活力的西区（WestEnd）拥有、管理的地产组合总面积达到15英亩。这些以餐饮、娱乐和零售为主的地产组合集中于卡纳比大街（Carnaby）、七晷区（Seven Dials）和中国城（Chinatown）区域。同时，Shaftesbury 在科文特花园（Covent Garden）东、西两侧、Soho区和菲茨罗维亚区（Fitzrovia）也拥有大量地产。

Shaftesbury 的地产组合包括近600家商户、餐厅、咖啡厅和酒吧，总面积达到110万平方英尺；另外，Shaftesbury 还拥有593间公寓和50万平方英尺的办公空间。Shaftesbury 的地产不仅全都毗邻伦敦西区的各大地铁站（年客流量达到2.28亿），同时紧邻横贯城铁“伊丽莎白线”（Elizabeth Line）上两个西区交通枢纽站——托特纳姆法院路（Tottenham Court Road）站和邦德街（Bond Street）站均在步行10分钟范围内。据预测，到2020中期，这两个枢纽站每年将接待超过2亿乘客。