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Contractor appointed

SE1 scheme to start

Fund manager takes tower floor

Letting at City scheme

Major pre let announced

Ropemaker rumour

Start date for EC2 scheme

City office site for sale

Cleared for City skyscraper

Ropemaker redevelopment

Ropemaker to demolish in Knightsbridge

Powergen for Citypoint

City Point for sale at around £400m

More pre-lets at CityPoint

Whitbread to move to CityPoint?

Towering Ambition

London’s next development cycle is now well underway with some 30 office schemes starting in the last six months, amounting to 510,962 sq m (5.5m sq ft) of new space coming on-stream.

Skyscrapers are topical again, and in this CityOffices newswire we look in detail at the unprecedented ‘clutch’ of new office towers (defined as 20+ storeys) nearing completion, underway and planned.

The last development cycle saw completion of the 37,160 sq m (398,000 sq ft), 34-storey Broadgate tower, EC2, now largely fully let; the 38,740 sq m (417,000 sq ft) 36-storey 125 Old Broad Street, EC2 has only 5,000 sq ft still available; the 55,091 sq m (593,000 sq ft), 36-storey Ropemaker Place, EC2, which is fully let; and the 25-storey, 30,750 sq m (331,000 sq ft) Drapers Gardens scheme in Throgmorton Avenue, EC2, which was pre-let.

All the above towers are in the City of London and interestingly there were no skyscrapers completed in Canary Wharf in the last cycle, or, less unusually, in the West End, Midtown or fringe. The almost-complete 59,921 sq m (645,000 sq ft), 46-storey Heron Tower in Bishopsgate, EC2, will end the tower building activity for the 2006-2011 property cycle.

The next cycle will see completion of the 75,901 sq m (817,000 sq ft), 80-storey, Shard, SE1 in 2012; the 63-storey, 111,482 sq m (1.2m sq ft) Pinnacle, EC2, in 2013; the 37-storey, 79,895 sq m (860,000 sq ft) 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3 (Walkie Talkie) and 47-storey, 67,075 sq m (722,000 sq ft) Leadenhall Building (Cheesegrater) both in 2014.

Schemes which are not yet under construction and may be completed in the next cycle are the 40-storey, 71,534 sq m (770,000 sq ft) 100 Bishopsgate, EC3, where a 2011 start is envisaged; the 22-storey, 27,870 sq m (300,000 sq ft), 60-70 St Mary Axe, EC3 (Can of Spam); and the 21-storey 93,440 sq m (1m sq ft) Aldgate Place, E1.

Elsewhere, a possible 20-storey plus scheme is being designed for Elizabeth House, and a 31-storey scheme for Kings Reach House, both in SE1. At Canary Wharf, the 2m sq ft redevelopment of Heron Quays is planned to include a 33-storey tower and there are still outstanding proposals for a 43-storey part office tower at Crossharbour; a 43-storey tower at Millharbour; and a 63-storey tower at the site formerly known as Columbus Tower in E14. In the West End, plans for the Victoria Interchange include a tower of up to 20-storeys.

The question is how successful are these new towers likely to be? The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe) in EC3, has rapidly became a London icon, but 10-years ago, post 9/11, it was very slow to let, with over 50% still vacant on completion. Other high-rise buildings such as Centrepoint in the West End and 1 Canada Square at Canary Wharf were slow to let in the early days. Despite these examples developers seem keener than ever to build towers.

In total some 315,868 sq m (3.4m sq ft) of office space is under construction in five office towers, but still available, with a further 260,126 sq m (2.8m sq ft) in towers that could start in 2011 or 2012. These are big numbers, however, to put it in context, the City of London saw lettings of new unoccupied office space of 260,126 sq m (2.8m sq ft) in 2010, so a single year’s take-up could almost fill them. The five towers will be completed over a four-year period, during which they will currently face limited competition from newly completed, large, low-rise schemes in the City.





Experience from completed towers such as Broadgate Tower, 125 Old Broad Street and Ropemaker Place shows that the majority of lettings tend to be signed-up after the development has been completed. In general, only a small proportion of a tower’s floorspace is pre-let before completion. However, the experience of the recent letting of 17,744 sq m (191,000 sq ft) to Aon at the Leadenhall Building may indicate a more active pre-let market than previously for the new London towers.

An analysis of the occupiers of recently completed towers shows that the major share (51%) is taken-up by financial services with professional services (including law), in second place (23%). With the just two sectors accounting for 74% of deals done it is no wonder that these are the main targets for developers and their agents. .



An unusual ‘bulge’ of lease expiry and breaks due in the period 2013-15 has partly contributed to developers enthusiasm in starting new schemes in the last few months; and in-turn this has led to developers with refurbishment schemes to also leap into competitive starts to achieve completion before the towers come on-stream.

The future of the next generation of towers will depend on attitude of the 200 medium to large office occupiers in the City of London now actively looking for space, or with lease expiries due in the next four years. If occupiers show the same enthusiasm for high-rise working as those firms moving in the previous office cycle, then the new towers coming to the London skyline will succeed. it will just take a little time.

Andy King
Director
CityOffices.net

- (20-05-2011)

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Macquarie to move HQ to Ropemaker

Macquarie Bank, the Australian investment bank, is understood to have agreed to take 20,160 sq m (217,000 sq ft) offices at British Land's Ropemaker Place in the City of London for its 1000 London staff. Terms are undisclosed. Macquarie was close to letting Drapers Gardens last year has been outbid by Blackrock. The bank has a lease expiry at City Point in 2011. Ropemaker Place is now almost 80 percent let. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities leased almost 230,000 sq ft in the building last year. - (12-02-2010)

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CityPoint on market

CityPoint in Ropemaker Street, London, EC2, is thought to be about to go on the market with an asking price of £650m. The 34-storey 65,681 sq m (707,000 sq ft) building is owned by US developer Tishman Speyer and partners Schroders, SITQ and UBS, who acquired the property for about £520m in 2006. - (06-02-2007)

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CityPoint on the market

CityPoint, the 36-storey skyscraper, on Ropemaker Street, London, EC2, is thought to be on the market and could be sold by the City of London Office Unit Trust (CLOUT) for around £500m. CLOUT was set up by Pillar Properties, now part of British Land, and Schroders, the fund manager, in 2001. CityPoint has about 52,675 sq m (566,993 sq ft) of office space and around 11,148 sq m (120,000 sq ft) of retail and leisure uses on the ground a lower floors. The building was built in 1967 and was named Britannic Tower, the former headquarters of British Petroleum. The building was re-named CityPoint after a major rebuild to a design by Sheppard Robson, which was completed in early 2001. - (28-08-2005)

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Deutsche Bank tower for EC2

Deutsche Bank is said to have plans for a 38-storey skyscraper on the edge of the City of London to be developed by its property arm Deutsche Grundbesitz (DGI). The building planned for Ropemaker Place, Ropemaker Street, London EC2 is said to be a "commercial development" and Deutsche has refused to say if it intends to occupy the building. The 200m high tower has been designed by Sheppard Robson and will rise to 10 storeys before leaning 20 degrees from vertical before straightening up. The bank was looking for a second headquarters building last year but this is now said to be no longer a top priority. No formal planning application has yet been made to London Borough of Islington. - (16-02-2002)

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