The City of London tower known as the Scalpel, EC3, has secured a tenant for three floors, including the top storey, in the latest sign of resilience for the Square Mile’s trophy office market.
Britannia Financial Group is set to move into floors 30, 31 and 35 at the top of the 190m building, taking more than 22,000 sq ft of office space.
The UK firm is understood to have agreed a rent of just over £80 per sq ft for the lower floors and around £95 per sq ft for the top storey of the skyscraper.
The move means Britannia, which also has offices at Dover Street in Mayfair, W1, will occupy five floors of the Scalpel, having already occupied levels 28 and 29. Just one floor – level 11 – remains empty at the building.
Angus Johnston, head of real estate at PwC, said the deal showed that high-end office space in the City was still in demand, despite the effects of the pandemic on the broader market.
“This does not rule out a broader rethink on London’s occupancy market,” he said. “But it does indicate that there remains market support for high-end office space in the City.”
The deal follows last week’s news that Ukrainian energy firm Dtek has agreed to pay a record City of London rent of just under £110 per sq ft for the top floor of the nearby Leadenhall Building, known as the Cheesegrater.
It comes as the Scalpel’s owner, WR Berkley, continues its search for a buyer for the 387,000 sq ft tower, which is thought to be valued at around £820m. The US insurer secured planning permission to build the tower in 2013. Construction was completed in 2018.
WR Berkley occupies five floors of the building, while other tenants include law firm Morrison & Foerster, which occupies levels 21-25, private equity firm Lombard International, National Australia Bank and insurance group Convex.
CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield are leasing agents for the Scalpel, while Reesa acted on behalf of Britannia. Neither WR Berkley nor Britannia responded to requests for comment.
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