{Published December 2010 and updated May 2024] Real estate development giant British Land has submitted details of a scheme that would see it develop a huge new area of office space in the City of London.
In association with the Blackstone Group, the company is aiming to establish roughly 700,000 sq ft of new office space in central London’s financial district, with the banking firm UBS already lined up to occupy the building.
British Land has welcomed UBS’ commitment to office space in central London as positive news for the city and a reflection of its continued position at the forefront of the world’s financial sector.
The site earmarked for development should the plans get the go-ahead is located along Broadgate, with numbers 2, 3 and 6 to become Number 5 and reportedly one of the finest areas of newly-built office space in London.
“It is vital that the City is able to meet the current and future needs of key occupiers for attractive, flexible and sustainable floorspace as financial services will be a major driver in the recovery of the UK economy from recession,” said Chris Grigg, British Land’s chief executive.
“It is a sign of huge confidence in London’s status as a world financial centre that UBS has committed to building a new world-class office building in the heart of the City.”
A host of sustainability measures and technologies have been incorporated into the design of 5 Broadgate, on which the architect Ken Shuttleworth from Make has taken the lead.
Mr Shuttleworth said: “Our bold design was conceived from the idea of a perfectly cast ‘engine of finance’ and responds to the strength and spirit of Broadgate. We believe it sets a new standard for the future generation of truly adaptable buildings.”
In related news, the social networking powerhouse Twitter is apparently considering making London office space into its new European headquarters next year.
Editor’s Notes: 5 Broadgate opened in 2015 and is described as a ‘groundscraper’ due to it providing a vast amount of lettable space over just 12 floors. More details of UBS’s headquarters building can be found here.
You can view profiles of providers that offer flexible office space and workspace solutions in the Broadgate area here.
In March 2024, it was announced that British Land had secured 3 new tenants at its Norton Folgate, E1 regeneration scheme that is located at the northern edge of the City of London. Norton Folgate is a short street that connects Bishopsgate with Shoreditch.
On, the Swiss high-performance sportswear brand, has signed for 20,000 square feet of office space at the Blossom Yard & Studios scheme.
Restaurant operators, Kolamba and Xi Home also signed deals to take circa 5,000 square feet combined.
On will join fellow office occupier, international law firm, Reed Smith, which has committed to rent 115,000 square feet of office space at the scheme.