Cheesegrater joint venture agreed
The City tower known as the Cheesegrater is to be built by British Land and Oxford Properties, who have signed contracts to form a joint venture for the development. The 610,000 sq ft building at 122 Leadenhall Street, EC3, has been designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and its tapering shape will include retail and dining facilities with flexible office space, plus a seven-storey landscaped open space at the bottom of the building covering nearly half an acre.
British Land said in a statement that the “efficient and adaptable” floor plates, which range from 21,000 sq ft at the base of the building to 6,000 sq ft at the top, were already generating strong interest from a broad range of occupiers in the insurance, financial, professional and corporate business sectors. Oxford Properties, the property arm of Canada’s OMERS group, said the deal reflected its long-term commitment to, and confidence in, the London market. Today’s news follows the provisional agreement announced in October.
Contracts on the joint venture have been signed, detailed planning consent is in place and the preliminary basement works have already been completed. Practical completion to shell and core is scheduled for mid-2014. British Land will act as lead development manager on the project, which has an estimated total development cost of around £340m excluding interest. British Land contributed the site itself at an effective land value of £90m, the group noted, while Oxford Properties will contribute the next £90m in cash to cover the cost of preparing and starting the development work. Further development costs will be shared on a 50:50 basis thereafter, so British Land estimates its contribution to the project, in addition to the land, will be around £125m.
