Standard Life has instructed agents to sublease 23,000 sq ft in the Gherkin as it consolidates offices following its merger with Aberdeen Asset Management.
JLL has been appointed to market floors 30 and 31 at 30 St Mary Axe for around £75 per sq ft.
Standard Life, which has a lease expiring in 2020, will move staff from its investment team in January into the legacy Aberdeen office at Bow Bells House, EC4, where it occupies 85,000 sq ft on a lease expiring in 2024.
The company will retain its offices on levels 34 (the highest office floor in the Gherkin) and 14, where Standard Life Wealth and Standard Life Employee Services divisions are based, having agreed rents of around £51 per sq ft in 2007 and £48 per sq ft in 2010 respectively.
The Gherkin’s principal tenant Swiss Re, has also instructed agents to sublease space. GVA and Gerald Eve are marketing 85,000 sq ft across floors 10-13 and 15 in the tower, at a price of around £69.50 per sq ft.
The building is owned by Safra Group, controlled by Brazilian banking billionaire Joseph Safra, which acquired the landmark tower in 2014 for £726m – a net initial yield of 3.75%.
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