Canary Wharf Contractors (CWC) will construct the £500m 'Walkie Talkie' tower at 20 Fenchurch Street in the City of London.
The firm was appointed as construction manager for the scheme, after it was confirmed that Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group had formed a 50:50 joint venture partnership to develop the site, as tipped earlier in the year.
CWC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canary Wharf Group.
Planning consent for the proposed 37 storey building was granted in October 2009. It will provide approximately 690,000 sq ft of world class space in floor plate sizes of 14,000 sq ft to 28,000 sq ft with a skygarden on the top three floors.
CWC will build the project under a staged programme at an anticipated total construction cost of £500m. Work on the substructure of the building and detailed design of the superstructure will start immediately. The ground floor level is scheduled to be finished for February 2012. Construction of the superstructure will follow, with completion of the project anticipated in the second quarter of 2014.
The existing property, currently a cleared site with some ancillary retail neighbouring holdings, has been sold by Land Securities to the Partnership for £90.2m, its March 2010 valuation.
Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group have been appointed as joint Development Managers and both are responsible for the leasing, with Land Securities taking the lead.
Robert Noel, managing director of Land Securities’ London portfolio, said: “Earlier this year we announced our intention to carry out this project in joint venture and we are delighted to have teamed up with Canary Wharf Group to do so.
The joint venture brings together two substantial companies with complementary skills in the conception and delivery of large schemes in London. The transaction allows us to take forward other projects within our substantial development pipeline in London so that we offer a range of building types and sizes in a range of locations across the capital.”
George Iacobescu, CEO of Canary Wharf Group, said: “We are looking forward to this opportunity to apply our extensive experience as a developer of large, high specification and bespoke office buildings for a diverse range of clients.
“We are also delighted that on this occasion we will be working alongside Land Securities with its own impressive pedigree and track record. This joint venture project will provide further evidence of our approach to the development and construction of very high quality buildings in London.”
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