Metro Bank is in advanced talks to prelet 150,000 sq ft of office space at Schroders’ and Stanhope’s £500m Ruskin Square development in Croydon, south London.
The bank, which became the UK’s first new high street lender for 150 years when it launched in 2010, is in talks to anchor the 180,000 sq ft first phase of the 2.5m sq ft mixed-use development.
The deal would be one of the largest recorded in Croydon and comes as the area is set for a rejuvenation thanks to Hammerson’s and Westfield’s plans for a major new shopping centre.
Jo Negrini, executive director of environment and development at Croydon council, said: “This deal will bolster belief in the area and speed up development. It will also assist us in our search for occupiers.”
Quoting rents on the offices at Ruskin Square are the highest in Croydon at £35 per sq ft.
The size of Metro Bank’s search – which focused on Ruskin Square and schemes by Lend Lease and Westfield in Stratford, E20 – highlights the bank’s rapid growth.
It now operates from more than 30 branches and has become the largest of the new generation of challenger banks which launched following the global financial crisis.
During 2014 it grew deposits from £1.3bn to £2.9bn and boasted almost 500,000 account holders.
The bank’s current HQ is in Holborn, WC1, where it opened its first branch in 2010.
When complete Ruskin Square will comprise 625 homes, 100,000 sq ft of shops, cafes and restaurants and 1.2m sq ft of offices.
Savills and JLL are joint agents on Ruskin Square. Savills is acting for Metro Bank.
