City offices in the news
More Central London office space news today – Hammerson has, according to the Telegraph, submitted a planning application to build on its St Alphage property in the City to create a 195,000 sq ft “mini-tower” and a 300,000 sq ft building running along the London Wall site. The latter is said to include plans for three trading floors of more than 40,000 sq ft – some of the largest in the City – and is clearly being targeted at major City firms.
The project, designed by architects Make, is likely to cost about £350m, the paper says, and Hammerson is already seeking a pre-let deal. Hammerson is being advised by Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle, it adds. A decision is expected on the planning application next summer.
Meanwhile, Property Week reports today that an application has been filed to put the City development site at Leadenhall Triangle into administration, as the special-purpose vehicles based in Guernsey that own these assets face administration proceedings in the Guernsey courts. Property Week says the buildings, which were valued at £140m in September, had previously been earmarked for demolition with the replacement 1.25m sq ft group of buildings also being targeted at a major City firm – JP Morgan was linked to the site, before it decided to move to Docklands, and Deutsche Bank was originally interested in the development several years ago. Talks are ongoing about a possible restructuring of the debt secured against the buildings, it adds.
