London, 2016-Jul-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land and Oxford Properties announce today that The Leadenhall Building is fully let.
Current customers Kames Capital, MS Amlin and Rothesay Life have committed to take the last remaining three floors, with two of the three transactions completing since the EU Referendum on 23 June.
Kames Capital, which currently occupies Level 26 and has £58 billion under management, has completed an 11 year lease over 7,000 sq ft on Level 43, the highest remaining available floor in the building.
MS Amlin has taken expansion space on Level 27, which provides 13,000 sq ft of offices. The company signed leases over 93,000 sq ft in 2013 and welcomed 800 staff to its new global headquarters in the summer of 2015.
Rothesay Life, currently resident on Level 25, has agreed to take Level 32 which comprises 11,000 sq ft. The specialist insurer, which is owned by Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, GIC and MassMutual, will occupy a total of 25,000 sq ft across its two floors.
The Leadenhall Building, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, provides 610,000 sq ft of office space over 45 floors and has attracted the highest rents ever paid in the City of London. The building was the winner in the ‘Office Building’ category at New London Architecture Awards earlier this month.
Tim Roberts, Head of Offices and Residential at British Land said: “This is a significant milestone, and underlines that our decision to hold our nerve early in the cycle and attract lettings on the upper floors post-completion was the correct one.
“Moreover, to receive commitments from occupiers so soon after the EU Referendum is not only a tremendous endorsement of the building; it underlines the enduring appeal of London.”
Chris Carter Keall, Vice President and Head of Asset Management at Oxford Properties added: “The letting of these final floors has confirmed the success of our leasing strategy.
“The initial large scale transactions underpinned the development. Post-completion, the focus has been on attracting a broad cross section of occupiers who value service and an active engagement with owner. It is therefore very pleasing to have concluded these transactions with existing occupiers.
“We look forward to continuing to add to the amenity at the building with a new restaurant and retail in 2017.”
About British Land – all figures as at last valuation date of 31 March 2016Notes to Editors
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London offices. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed, of £20.0 billion (of which British Land share is £14.6 billion) as valued at 31 March 2016. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start-ups. Our objective is to deliver long term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people’s everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to finance these places effectively.
Retail assets account for 50% of our portfolio. As the UK’s largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising over 20 million sq ft of retail space across multi-lets, superstores, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.
Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 48% of our portfolio, is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our Offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.5 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).
The remaining 2% of our portfolio is at Canada Water where we have a 46 acre redevelopment opportunity in our medium term pipeline.
Our industry-leading sustainability strategy is a powerful tool to deliver lasting value for all our stakeholders. By supporting communities, improving environments and growing economies, we create Places People Prefer and enhance long term returns.
In April 2016 British Land received the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday honours. The Award is the UK’s highest accolade for business success and is given to companies which bring major economic, social and environmental benefits through their own business success. It was awarded to British Land for continuous achievement in all these areas over the last five years.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com
About Oxford Properties Group
Oxford Properties Group is a global platform for real estate investment, development and management, with over 2,000 employees and C$40bn of real estate assets that it manages for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners. Established in 1960, Oxford was acquired in 2001 by OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension funds with over C$78bn in assets. Oxford has regional offices in Toronto, London and New York, each with investment, development and management professionals who have deep real estate expertise and local market insight. Oxford now has approximately C$8bn of assets under management in Europe, with a focus on core office and high street retail assets in Central London and Paris.
For more information about Oxford visit: www.oxfordproperties.com.
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
Jonathan Rae, British Land
020 7467 2938
Media:
Pip Wood, British Land
020 7467 2838
Sally Saadeh
Oxford Properties
020 7822 2844
Andrew Scorgie
FTI Consulting
020 3727 1458
Source: British land