WR Berkley Group is seeking a new agent for its landmark Scalpel tower at 52-54 Lime Street, EC3, following DTZ’s proposed acquisition of Cushman & Wakefield.
The US insurer has begun approaching alternative advisers to take over the joint leasing mandate to avoid conflicts created by the acquisition.
About six firms will be considered for the lucrative role, with an appointment expected after regulatory sign-off of DTZ’s takeover of C&W, which is due this autumn.
WR Berkley vice-president of UK property services Andrew Reynolds said: “We are considering the appointment of a new joint agent going forward, assuming the merger completes as expected later this year.”
DTZ has advised WR Berkley since the site acquisition, and C&W was brought in after planning approval in 2013.
The existing leasing teams include DTZ EMEA chief executive John Forrester and senior director Tim Plumbe, and C&W UK chief executive Digby Flower and City partner James Heyworth-Dunne.
Members of both teams will continue to provide advice alongside the new joint agent.
Forrester said: “The clients on all of our work will benefit from the bigger talent pool and greater reach of the business, subject to regulatory approval of the deal.”
The move illustrates the difficulty of increasing or even maintaining the separate revenues of large commercial agents during mergers and acquisitions given their market share, with London offices likely to be the UK market involving the most overlap between DTZ and C&W.
Other London schemes on which both firms advise include Derwent London’s White Collar Factory, EC1, on which Pilcher Hershman also advises.
DTZ and C&W were also appointed by JP Morgan in 2011 to dispose of more than 1m sq ft of surplus office space. Most of that space is now sublet.
