Nick Leslau has bought the estate, which is located near Tower Bridge, for a reported GBP 156 million.
The entrepreneur plans to completely refurbish the six buildings around the marina in the hopes that financial services firms and others will move into the office space.
As well as office space to lease on the estate, there is a wide range of flexible office space and workspace options available including fully fitted and serviced private offices, dedicated coworking desks, hot desking lounges and rentable collaboration zones.
Read the profiles of the providers of flexible office space at St Katherine Docks
Leslau said: “It’s very rare to get 20 acres in central London for GBP 330 per square foot.
“It’s no longer vital to be in the Square Mile. You no longer have to be in a cluster of office buildings to get grade-A space. It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful place to work and live in central London. Being in a tower block is very different to being in a marina.”
Leslau hopes that office space in the estate could fetch rents of up to GBP 35 per square foot or more.
St Katharine’s Docks boasts circa 500,000 square feet of office space, restaurants and shops, and is the only marina in central London. Reportedly Leslau had to fight off several rival bids to eventually snag the site.
Overall St Katharine’s Docks generates an annual rent of GBP 12.6 million.
Currently, the site has a 12 per cent vacancy rate but Leslau has stated that through refurbishment and altering the mix of tenants he will be able to eventually drive the rate down.
The entrepreneur is aiming to have the refurbishment done by 2013 ahead of the completion of several London skyscrapers the following year.
Several high-profile projects such as The Cheesegrater and the Walkie Talkie are due to be finished in 2014.
Editor’s notes: The estate which is named after the 12th-century hospital that stood on the site of the docks was bought through Leslau’s Max Property Group. The estate was transferred to Blackstone which had bought Max Property Group in 2014 for GBP 448 million.
In May 2017, Blackstone put St Katherine Docks on the market and was seeking GBP 435 million.
In March 2023, Blackstone sold the estate to the Singaporean real estate company City Developments Ltd. for GBP 395 million.
In June 2023, 22,222 square feet of fully fitted office space for rent at St Katharine Docks was being market with an asking rent of £33.50 per square foot.