Private equity firm Weatherford Capital signs lease at Water Street Tampa

A politically connected Tampa private equity firm is the latest notable company to sign a lease deal at Water Street Tampa.

Weatherford Capital, led by former Florida House speaker Will Weatherford, will lease 10,000 square feet on the 12th floor of Thousand & One, the 20-story office tower at 1001 Water Street. The company currently has 12 employees working from its headquarters at 100 N Tampa St. It also has an office in Dallas.

“To attract and build a world-class team, we need to be located in a world-class office building where our valued colleagues can take full advantage of the incredible attributes that Tampa offers,” Weatherford said in a statement. “We are inspired by the vision of Water Street Tampa and look forward to being part of that ecosystem.”

Weatherford founded the firm in 2015 alongside his brothers Drew, a former Florida State quarterback, and Sam, an investor. Weatherford served in the Florida House from 2006 to 2014, becoming Speaker in 2012, and is chairperson of the University of South Florida’s board of trustees.

Weatherford Capital’s notable investments include $22.5 million for Tampa cloud software company Soma Global; and a round-leading buy-in for Ohio insurance company Branch, which hit a $1 billion “unicorn” valuation this summer.

This is the third lease of at least 5,000 square feet inked at Thousand & One in the past three months. Also on Monday, Water Street developers Strategic Property Partners announced a deal with commercial real estate financing services firm Walker and Dunlop for 5,313 square feet on the building’s fourth floor. And in August, Northern Trust Corporation signed a deal for 10,000 square feet on the ninth floor, relocating from its current office on N Florida Ave.

This month, Water Street hosted a star-studded grand opening for Edition Tampa, which it expects to be the region’s first five-star hotel, featuring appearances from celebrities like Lenny Kravitz, Mark Ronson and Q-Tip.