Henderson Global Investors and Istithmar P&O Estates are jointly behind the project, which is under construction and will deliver a variety of mixed-use properties in phases during 2012.
Macmillan is one of the world’s best-known publishing groups and has a strong presence in the UK and southeast England. Its decision to let new offices at Kings Cross forms part of its plan to consolidate some of its workforce in the capital and to relocate certain staff members away from its offices in Oxford and Basingstoke.
The investment group Henderson said in a statement that, in addition to a substantial quota of offices, the publisher will rent a small restaurant and some residential apartments for its own use. The pre-let deal involving the development on York Way was agreed at £45 per square foot and covers a 15-year period.
“The agreement for lease with Macmillan represents a significant milestone for the project and follows the early success of the residential off-plan sales initiative in Asia,” said Peter Neal, a portfolio manager with a central London brief at Henderson.
“We are creating a dynamic home for our publishing divisions in King’s Cross, and we will be able to promote collaboration and idea-sharing across our campus,” said Charles Stafford, head of property at Macmillan. “This scheme will also enable Macmillan to leverage its scale, resources and expertise across its wider group,” he added.
The Kings Cross district of central London is undergoing a good deal of regeneration through several distinct schemes instigated by various parties. The area is close to Bloomsbury, the historic home of much of the publishing industry activity in and around central London and the UK.
Editor’s notes: As of July 2024, Macmillan Publishers lists the Glass Building, Macmillan Campus, Crinan Street, London N1 9XW in Kings Cross as its address on its website.
Other high-profile occupiers attracted to Kings Cross include Google, which opened its new London headquarters in the district.
The building is the technology giant’s wholly owned and designed building outside the U.S. and has been nicknamed a ‘landscraper’ because it is as long as The Shard is tall, yet is only 12 storeys tall.
The development used more steel than The Shard, the UK’s tallest building, and included a 2.5-acre roof garden with 200 trees and 40,000 plants and shrubs.
It was reported on September 28th 2026, that fellow technology giant Microsoft was in talks to take around 200,000 square feet of office space at Belgrove House in King’s Cross.
OpenAI, the platform that Microsoft partners with, signed for an 88,500-square-foot office at Nan Fung and Endurance Land’s Jahn Court and Brassworks at the Regent Quarter in King’s Cross earlier in 2026.
As of October 2026, Macmillan Publishers were still based at the Glass Building.