British Land has dusted off plans for the construction of the Cheesegrater, a City of London skyscraper.
The proposed 610,000 sq ft Leadenhall building, which has an estimated construction value of £290m was put on hold during the recession. But the developer said it is now “exploring interest from potential partners”.
British Land added “The economics of development have become more favourable, particularly in Central London offices where we expect the development of over 1.2 million sq ft of new space at Regent’s Place, Broadgate and Baker Street will enable us to deliver high quality properties at attractive prices.
“In retail, we have 750,000 sq ft of consented space for development on our existing retail parks and arecurrently considering activating a number of the schemes in the coming year.”
The developer has recently committed nearly £500 million committed to London office developments, encouraged by “strengthening demand and asset prices”.
This sum covers:
- £232m to complete its Regent’s Place estate with the construction of new office and residential buildings with a combined floorspace of 500,000 sq ft
- £65m to redevelop a new 139,000 sq ft office at 2-14 Baker Street, acquired just after the year end
- £175m (representing a 50% share) at Broadgate, to construct a 700,000 sq ft new building for UBS on the site of 4 and 6 Broadgate.
British Land summarised: “We have entered the new financial year with greater optimism and are particularly encouraged by the recent strengthening of the London office occupier market.
“However, the economic recovery remains fragile and unemployment continues to rise. In addition, we remain alert to the possibility of further market dislocation given the uncertain economic backdrop and the potential impact of the fiscal actions needed to reduce the budget deficit in the UK. We will therefore continue to act with caution over the coming period.”
Image source: Znonz
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