Law firm takes Cheapside space in record rent-free deal

US law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has taken 45,000 sq ft in Menolly’s 107 Cheapside, London EC2, in a deal thought to include the largest rent-free period in the City. Orrick will occupy levels seven, eight and nine, with an option for a further 20,000 sq ft on the sixth floor. It will pay approximately £37 per sq ft and will have almost five years’ rent-free on a 15-year lease. The firm now occupies 32,000 sq ft in Hermes’ and BlackRock’s Tower 42, where it pays £45 per sq ft. The firm had been in on-off talks to occupy 82,000 sq ft in the 160,000 sq ft building since August 2008, before reviewing its occupational requirements early this year. The deal was signed in the same week that Orrick’s New York office agreed to occupy 220,000 sq ft in the Blackrock Building at 51 West 52nd Street, New York.   Knight Frank advises Orrick; CB Richard Ellis acts for Menolly.