ArchiTeam PaperNews

- First look photos show construction on site at The Leadenhall Building -

Construction has recommenced on what is set to become one of the most iconic buildings in London’s Square Mile, British Land and Oxford Properties’ The Leadenhall Building.  Following an announcement in late December 2010 on the completion of a joint venture partnership between British Land and Oxford Properties for the 610,000 sq ft development, photos revealed today show the scheme’s contractors back on site and pressing ahead with piling works (the laying of structural support for the building).

Located at 122 Leadenhall, the tapering 47 storey, 736 ft (224m) tower was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and is due for practical completion in mid 2014.

Combining flexible office space with retail and dining facilities, the development features a spectacularly landscaped, seven-storey open space at the base of the building, which covers nearly half an acre and is of a scale unprecedented in London.

The development's tapering shape delivers floor plates of varying size, ranging from 21,000sq ft on the lower floors to 6,000sq ft at the top of the tower, all with spectacular views over the capital.   Great care has been taken to ensure the design of the building complements the surrounding architecture, particularly with regard to London’s viewing corridors.  Seen from the west looking towards St Paul's Cathedral, The Leadenhall Building will appear to 'lean away' from the historic monument.

Nigel Webb, Head of Developments at British Land, said: “Since completing the joint venture partnership with Oxford Properties late last year, we have moved quickly to return to site and forge ahead with the construction of this iconic new London building.  The Leadenhall Building is already generating strong interest from a broad range of occupiers in the insurance, financial, professional and corporate business sectors and will complete at a time when we believe strong demand and supply constraints will coincide.”

Richard Pilkington, Development Director, Oxford Properties added: “Our plan was always to move quickly in the New Year and it’s great to see major construction activity on the site again, giving confidence to the occupier market that The Leadenhall Building will be delivered by mid 2014.”

About British Land 

British Land is one of the UK’s largest Real Estate Investment Trusts with total assets, owned or under management, valued at £14.0 billion (British Land share £8.9 billion), as at 30 September 2010. Our property portfolio is focused on high quality destination retail locations and central London offices which we believe are well placed to benefit from growing customer demand. We have among the highest occupancy rates and lease lengths of the major UK REITs at 98% and 12.5 years respectively. 

Retail assets account for 65% of our portfolio, around 85% of which are located at prime out-of-town sites.  Our portfolio comprises over 26 million sq ft of retail space across 93 retail warehouse properties, 100 superstores, 10 shopping centres and 10 department stores. Our portfolio benefits from flexible planning consents making the portfolio adaptable to a wide range of formats. This allows us to actively manage our portfolio and deliver the most attractive space to both retailers and consumers.

Central London offices currently comprise 33% of the portfolio. Our portfolio comprises over 6 million of office space and includes a 50% share in Broadgate, the premier office campus in the City and Regent’s Place, an office estate in the West End. During 2010, we committed to a significant development programme in central London which on the basis of current estimates of values at completion, increase the weighting of offices in the group’s portfolio from 33% to 40%. Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com

About Oxford Properties

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, Oxford Properties Group is one of North America’s largest commercial real estate investment, development and management firms. Oxford oversees and manages approximately C$16 billion of real estate for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners including headquarter buildings and development projects such as the Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto, the West Side Yards in New York, Watermark Place in London and Centennial Place in Calgary. Oxford’s investments include office, retail, hotel, industrial and multi-family residential properties. Oxford is the real estate arm of the OMERS Worldwide Group of Companies. For more information visit www.oxfordproperties.com