Large Occupiers Vie For £1.2B London Office Development

A new £1.2B City of London development appears to have achieved something that has been absent from the office market for the past few years — competition among big tenants. 

Three large occupiers have earmarked 75 London Wall as their first choice for a new headquarters, Green Street News reported. 

There has been a lack of Grade A office development for the past decade, leaving limited new prime office space for big companies that need to move. 

That means occupiers are looking to secure new premises well before current leases expire.

The 500K SF building at 75 London Wall is being built by a joint venture between UK investment manager Castleforge and Malaysian developer Gamuda. Cheyne Capital has provided a £500M loan for the scheme, which has a development cost of £1.2B.  

The largest occupier looking at the building is investment manager Jane Street, Green Street reported. It is looking for 400K SF to 500K SF to upsize its UK HQ over the next few years. It occupies 235K SF at 212 Devonshire Square in the City. 

BlackRock is also considering the building for its requirement of more than 300K SF ahead of a lease expiry in 2035. CEO Larry Fink recently bemoaned the lack of large buildings being completed in London in the next few years. 

Australian bank Macquarie is also on the move from its HQ at Ropemaker Place and has a 250K SF requirement. That’s an upsizing from its present 217K SF. 

The building at 75 London Wall is a redevelopment of Deutsche Bank’s former London HQ and is scheduled for completion in late 2027. 

Castleforge Managing Partner Michael Kovacs is speaking at Bisnow’s London Office Investment and Development Conference on 26 March. Sign up here.