JLL arranges new lease for Rakuten, as major consumer- and B2B-technology firm re-commits and expands within San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2024 – JLL announced today arranging a lease for Rakuten International, a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., to relocate from its offices of nine years into 29,000 square feet of modern office space on the 18th floor at 300 Mission St. in San Francisco.

Rakuten is underway with its January 2024 move-in to new space that offers employees an optimized workplace on a single floor with more conference rooms, small-group collaboration space and amenities. The 300 Mission building, a project of Paramount Properties, features large floor plates of approximately 30,000 square feet, available subterranean parking and a landscaped outdoor plaza, just steps from the Montgomery St. BART transit station and the Salesforce Transbay Transit Center.

“As our lease was running out and we considered our options, we realized that the heart of our business and its attraction to a new generation of technology workers was directly connected to maintaining a presence in one of the world’s most exciting, beautiful and tech-forward cities,” said Amit Patel, CEO at Rakuten International. “Our former location’s 24,000 square feet were spread across two small floors with outdated layouts that were increasingly at odds with collaborating effectively. 300 Mission by contrast offers amenitized space on a single floor that will create plentiful opportunities for people to gather and work together. This investment in our people will create a more comfortable, more flexible and more easily accessible space, and ultimately a better choice than consolidating Bay Area operations to our San Mateo regional headquarters.”

Rakuten International, based in nearby San Mateo, CA, has over 550 employees in the Bay Area with nearly 160 assigned to the new 300 Mission offices. The company is well-known in the Bay Area as the official jersey badge sponsor of the Golden State Warriors. Parent company Tokyo-based Rakuten Global, one of the world’s leading Internet service companies, has helped shape the way people shop online, with a wide selection of products and services.

Patel, in a much-read post on LinkedIn, recognized the importance of flexible workplaces in explaining the firm’s three-day-per-week in-office policy – the first time employees were asked to be in-person since March 2020. “Our policy comes with new benefits, including a work-from-anywhere July, to support the renewal of our people’s routines while allowing them to maintain some flexibility in how they work. But my primary consideration for the three-day standard was the creation of an exceptional environment for everyone where they could be part of a larger equation that enables them and our company to thrive,” he wrote.

Brittan Hawken of JLL represented Rakuten in the transaction.

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Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community. Visit rakuteninternational.com for more information.