Land Securities £260m development confirms City office confidence

Land Securities announcement today of a £260 million development of 1 & 2 New Ludgate, EC4, a speculative mixed-use development in the City of London confirms a growing confidence in the City office market. The 379,000 sq ft scheme occupies an island site near St Paul’s Cathedral and comprises two distinct buildings united by a new public piazza, which together aim to offer 346,000 sq ft of office accommodation set around open and green spaces. Colette O’Shea, Head of Development, London said: “Our decision to commence the speculative development of 1 & 2 New Ludgate reflects our confidence both in the City office market, where we believe supply of new space will be constrained in 2015, and in the quality of the attractive and highly efficient office space we are creating.”

There has been a marked increase in competition for offices in London in recent months where the leasing market had one of the highest monthly take ups on record in May, with a total of 793,400 sq ft being let – up by 117 per cent month-on-month and 135 per cent on May last year according to Jones Lang LaSalle. One of the reasons, according to a recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is a boom in City of London job opportunities, and 1 & 2 New Ludgate is located right where the capital’s financial, legal and professional worlds meet.

Demolition work on the site, which is five minutes-walk from Farringdon station, is already complete and Land Securities has appointed Skanska Construction UK Ltd as main contractor for the scheme. Construction will start on site in August with completion scheduled for April 2015.

Added O’Shea: “1 & 2 New Ludgate, designed by architects Fletcher Priest and Sauerbruch Hutton, will be a striking, flexible and contemporary addition to one of London’s most historic locations with appeal to a wide range of occupiers seeking space in central London.”

The development will also include 33,000 sq ft of restaurant and retail facilities at ground and basement levels as well as improved pedestrian links and new public areas for those working, visiting and living in the area.

By Sara Bean