One St Paul’s offices attracts “new type” of City tenant

A marketing campaign aimed at attracting non-traditional City occupiers appears to have paid off, with the entire 60,000 sqft office element of One St Paul’s in the City of London being let to a single tenant. Genesis Oil and Gas Consultants Ltd has agreed a 15-year lease for all six storeys of bespoke office space, and will  take possession upon handover of the building works during the summer of 2013, with the aim of moving its headquarters in the autumn. The deal marks the culmination of AXA Real Estate’s reworking of the property as a major mixed-use redevelopment scheme.

Harry Badham at AXA Real Estate’s UK Director of Development, explained: “The letting to Genesis marks the successful conclusion of a two year plan to reposition this building into a prime mixed used scheme.

He added: “This letting also reinforces the diversity of the City of London in attracting new types of occupiers, a trend we are confident will continue.”

“We  remain  very  interested  in,  and  are  actively  exploring,  further  development  opportunities  in Central London where we can acquire sites or  buildings in need of repositioning and deploy our development expertise.”

Upon gaining vacant possession, AXA Real Estate selected Sheppard Robson as the lead architect, following a design competition. The property was immediately re-branded One St Paul’s as part of a targeted marketing campaign launched specifically to appeal to non-traditional City occupiers.

In 2012, as part of the repositioning, AXA Real Estate pre-let the restaurants to some of London’s most exciting independent operators. Drake and Morgan took the largest unit for its sixth central London bar/restaurant, The Happenstance, while Jamie Barber, owner of the celebrity haunt Hush Mayfair, agreed to bring his new Hush Brasserie concept to the City.

n  2012,  AXA  Real  Estate  also  agreed  to  lease  the  10,000  sqft  residential  space  to  Grange Hotels, which is fitting-out the space itself and will operate it alongside its nearby hotel as luxury serviced apartment accommodation.

Genesis’ Managing Director, John Cambridge, said of the move: “The new headquarters will accommodate all of our London staff in one building and has the flexibility to meet our anticipated growth.  The flagship headquarters, in the area of St. Paul’s Cathedral in central London, is a confident statement of intent for the future of our company.”

by Sara Bean