Amazon has begun talks for a second major Midtown office building less than six months after signing for its first.
The online retailer is viewing buildings close to its new 210,000 sq ft Sixty London, EC1, headquarters with a view to leasing as much as another 300,000 sq ft within a matter of months.
Amazon has already held negotiations with BNP Paribas Real Estate, AXA and the King’s Cross Central Partnership over a possible deal to occupy the whole of the 350,000 sq ft 6 Pancras Square, N1?.
However, the building’s complex ownership structure and strong interest from other major occupiers, including Hachete and Havas, are understood to have stymied its interest.
Instead, Amazon is now focusing its attention on buildings closer to Sixty London, which was developed by AXA.
It is understood to have already held discussions regarding Sainsbury’s’ 328,000 sq ft HQ at 33 Holborn, EC1.
Other options in the area include Land Securities’ 379,000 sq ft scheme, New Ludgate scheme, EC4, on which the REIT began speculative construction in June.
Cardinal Lysander’s and Crossrail’s 207,000 sq ft over-site development at Farringdon station remains in planning, while Helical Bar’s redevelopment of has yet to start.
Henderson’s redevelopment of has long been considered a likely target for Amazon’s next move. However, the scheme has been called in and will now not start before 2015.
Amazon’s original instruction, awarded to Cushman & Wakefield, involved a scoping study for as much as 750,000 sq ft of offices in the capital.
Sixty London represented the first stage in the process, which had been expected to take as much as a decade to execute.
Amazon occupied just 3,000 sq ft in London at 85-86 Newman Street, W1, prior to the Sixty London deal.
jack.sidders@estatesgazette.com
