Sainsbury’s has thousands of employees around the UK, primarily at its hundreds of retail outlets and several strategically placed regional office space sites. Sainsbury’s commitment to occupying a sizable area of currently empty offices at Anstry Park is seen as good news economically for the West Midlands and as a particular fillip for the business park itself.
Anstry Park sits on the site of a former airfield, and there had been hopes that a redevelopment effort could turn it into a significant base for technological innovation and enterprise. The telecoms giant Ericsson operated from the site for a time and employed over 500 people until a slump in the company’s broader European performance saw it forced to move on in 2009.
Sainsbury’s director of estates, Matt Birch, outlined his company’s intention concerning the site in a letter to local councillor Ed Ruane. The Coventry Observer records the letter: “The relocation represents a major investment which we believe will secure the site’s future and be of considerable benefit to the local area.
“The relocation will provide a better work environment for our colleagues and the potential to further shape and invest in the site, to suit the company’s future aspirations.”
Mr Birch also suggested that the move formed part of a broader strategy adjustment linked to the rapidly growing prevalence of online shopping. Sainsbury’s and its bank employ some 150,000 people in the UK, and the company is headquartered in the Holborn district of central London.
The deal at the recently completed building represented the landlord’s third at the property and outlined the retailer’s renting of 68,002 square feet of office space over the first, second and third floors.
The sixth and seventh floors, totalling 37,880 square feet, had been let to Partners Group, and the 13,408 square feet ninth floor had been let to Corio Generation, part of the Macquarie Group, making the office building 58 per cent occupied at the time.
The building at 33 Charterhouse Street, EC1, delivers 200,611 square feet of best-in-class office space over 11 floors, together with 5,439 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
The building was named after the grocery store formerly located on the corner of the site and owned by JJ Mack, a market trader whose career started with just a street barrow.
In March 2024, Helical and Ashby Capital announced that international arbitration firm Three Crowns had signed a new lease at the JJ Mack Building.
Three Crowns agreed to rent 15,484 square feet of best-in-class office space on the 8th floor on a 15-year lease.
The latest letting meant that the office building was 67 per cent let.
In the same month, Helical sold the long leasehold at 25 Charterhouse Square, EC1, to the investment manager Ares Management for £43.5m
Helical redeveloped the office building close to the Farringdon East entrance to the Elizabeth Line, which comprised 45,000 square feet of office space, in 2017.
Tenants at the time of the disposal include marketing agency Anomaly, gaming company Entain, and communications consultancy Hudson Sandler.
In January 2025, it was reported that US asset management company State Street was negotiating to rent office space in the 10-storey 100 New Bridge Street, an office being redeveloped by Helical Plc and Orion Capital Managers.
At the time, it was understood that State Street wished to relocate its London headquarters from 20 Churchill Place in Canary Wharf to the carbon-friendly 190,000-square-foot office development, located adjacent to City Thameslink and Blackfriars Station, and a short walk from Farringdon Station.
The targeted practical completion of 100 New Bridge Street was Q1 2026.
In February 2025, it was announced that Helical, in a joint venture with Places for London, had entered into a £125 million financing arrangement with HSBC to fund the remaining development of 10 King William Street.
The scheme in the City of London would provide 139,000 square feet of offices, with 7,260 square feet of terracing, and 1,950 square feet of retail and occupier amenities. The building was scheduled to complete in December 2026.
In August 2025, Helical reported good progress on JV schemes to develop space above and around London Underground stations.
In its positive development update, the company advised that constrained supply was ‘driving growth ambitions’.
It stated that it was on track to complete 465,000 square feet of prime central London workspace in 2026 and aimed to add further office and mixed-use schemes to the pipeline.
In October 2025, Helical’s chief executive, Matthew Bonning-Snook, reaffirmed that increased occupational demand and the scarcity of new office supply were driving strong rental growth, creating “promising market conditions”, and that the firm expects 465,000 square feet of new office space to complete in 2026.
In January 2026, it was reported that Tishman Speyer had agreed to an early termination of the Sainsbury’s lease. This meant the developer and investor had a path to vacant possession and finance secured for the refurbishment of the building.
Plans for the refurbishment of Sainsbury’s former HQ at Holborn Circus in Farringdon included the creation of new internal atriums, a reimagined ground floor and basement experience, and the addition of a new roof terrace, with initial works set to begin in the second half of 2026.
Tishman Speyer had agreed a deal with LADBible in October 2025, where the social entertainment business signed a lease for 32,000 square feet at its 188,000 square feet Angel Square redevelopment and was due to take occupation early 2026.
The scheme, which was completed in Q4 of 2025, offered HQ workspace directly above Angel Underground station, with features such as 16,000 square feet of terrace space.
Also reported in January 2026 was Ares Management’s relocation to One Hanover Street in the West End. The investment management firm agreed a pre-let with the joint venture between Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and The Crown Estate to fully occupy the new super-prime office space above the iconic Apple store on Regent Street following completion of the redevelopment.
The 124,000-square-foot deal was the largest in the West End of 2025.