100 Fenchurch Street – LET
We are delighted to announce that the 5th floor offices (2,208 sq ft) at 100 Fenchurch Street, EC3 has been let to Assured Food Standards on behalf of M&G Real Estate.
The building is fully refurbished and located in the hub of the Insurance district benefiting from close proximity to Lloyd’s of London.
For more information please contact Jack Wells (0207 456 0729) or Jon Beilin (0207 456 0727) at Newton Perkins.
Legal eagles look for new nests
Law firms are expected to keep office leasing agents in central London busy this year.
The slew of tenants considering their choices involve US law firm Kirkland & Ellis who currently occupy approximately 110,000 sq ft in the Safra-owned Gherkin, EC3. Rumour has it that Kirkland are looking for up to 170,000 sq ft and have short listed 1 Leadenhall – a 400,000 sq ft tower redevelopment by Brookfield (albeit construction has not yet started on site).
Meanwhile, Baker McKenzie, currently located near Blackfriars station at 100 New Bridge Street, EC4, is shortlisting relocation options. The list is believed to include the proposed refurbishment of the former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters at 280 Bishopsgate, EC2, by CBRE Global Investments and Arax Property, although there is no timeline for the launch and completion of the refurbishment.
Covington & Burling has also been associated with a potential move (from 265 Strand WC2) to either the 60 London Wall, EC2; a major refurbishment by LaSalle Investment Management or 22 Bishopsgate, EC2; the AXA Investment Management owned 1 m sq ft tower redevelopment which is pre-letting fast.
In total, researchers have identified up to 2.5m sq ft of law firm requirements; both active and under consideration.
Controversial tulip could still blossom in the City of London
An appeal has been lodged by the team behind the Foster + Partners who designed the 305m tall tower. This comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan rejected the scheme plan that would dominate the City of London skyline.
If it wins the appeal, it could be the capital's second-highest building – only one metre lower than the Shard.
It would also loom over One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, which is actually London's second-largest hotel and it would surpass One Undershaft as the tallest tower in the Square Mile.
The City of London Corporation had previously approved it and said the development would contribute to its dream of the Square Mile as a "vibrant" place to visit.
The Mayor criticised the building last July and said that its height, design and appearance "would not contribute to the highest design quality" required for a large building in the area.
Revenue of the Central London office hit £ 4.9bn in Q4 2019 as a good return rate
Research shows that Q4 2019 was the most successful domestic investment quarter since Q3 2013.
Central London office investment transactions totalled £4.9bn in the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing the year-end total to £11.3bn.
The amount showed a rise of 125% quarter-on-quarter and was on average with the final quarter of 2018.
£2.55bn transacted in December alone, indicating a return on investors confidence following the conclusive results of the Parliamentary elections.
Over the fourth quarter, a total of 16 transactions over £100m were completed more than in the first three quarters of 2019 combined, the biggest being the Post Building's £607.5m disposal in Bloomsbury. The biggest deal for all of 2019 has been the £1.1bn sale of 25 Canada Square in Canary Wharf.
A large amount of money was spent on repairing fire doors on its properties in the City of London since Grenfell
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the City of London Corporation is spending £8.9m to replace fire doors on its housing estates.
Like other councils, it mounted a review of its fire doors after the fire and discovered that "the front doors of many units did not meet present standards and were a significant risk to the compartmentation of the units”.
Compartmentation is designed to prevent the spread of fire all over a building. The new doors should be able to resist fire, with a minimum of 30 minutes, for up to 60 minutes.
The Company said most front doors were the same as originally installed and reached the end of their natural life. At the time it was expected the timber doors would last from 20 and 30 years.
