Hammerson : London Office Letting

Hammerson and its joint venture partners GE Capital and Bank of Ireland have secured the second letting for their major development at 125 Old Broad Street in London EC2, United Kingdom.
International real estate advisor DTZ has signed a lease for 7,000 m² of office accommodation on levels 1-5 of the building, at £53.50 per ft² for 20 years. The annual rent is £4.0 million. A contribution towards fit-out and lease surrender costs of £11.7 million will be paid to DTZ in lieu of a rent-free period.

The scheme is now 32% let following the earlier letting of 3,100 m² on levels 13-15 of the building to international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel. Turnbull and Asser has also signed a lease to occupy a 400 m² retail unit. Completion of the building, which provides 29,700 m² of prime office accommodation over 26 floors, is scheduled for May 2008. Following these lettings, 19,700 m² of office accommodation remains to be let on levels 5-12 and 16-26.

John Richards, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said: “We are pleased to provide the new global headquarters for DTZ at 125 Old Broad Street, one of the best locations in the City of London. This enables the company to rationalise its existing London properties. We are seeing encouraging interest in the remaining tower floors of the building and I am confident that this will prove to be a very successful development.”

Robert Peto, DTZ UK & Ireland Chairman, said: “In the search for our new global HQ we were looking to occupy a world class building which matched the ambitions and drive of the company and 125 Old Broad Street does just this. By reducing our London estate to three significant buildings we will be able to offer a more joined up and efficient service for clients, encourage business synergies and provide our staff with the top quality accommodation that they deserve. This demonstrates our commitment to continued investment in our people and our infrastructure”

CBRE and Strutt & Parker acted for Hammerson and DTZ represented itself.

source: Hammerson