Difa will seek a major prelet from a financial tenant before it starts building its £800m skyscraper in the Square Mile.
The German open-ended fund submitted its plans for Europe’s tallest building to the Corporation of London on Wednesday night.
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 1,007ft Bishopsgate Tower, EC2, will be 230ft taller than 1 Canada Square in Canary Wharf and 16ft taller than the proposed Renzo Piano-designed London Bridge Tower. The “Helter-skelter” will also host the city’s highest public restaurant, in a sky lobby on the 43rd floor.
The capital value of the 960,000 sq ft skyscraper is estimated at around £800m when fully let, with construction costs likely to exceed £300m.
The site of the tower has moved north since the plans were first drawn up, and it now includes Crosby Court on Bishopsgate. The site initially comprised 6-8 Bishopsgate, 22-24 Bishopsgate and 4 Crosby Square. However, advised by Savills, Difa bought Crosby Court for £67m and sold 6-8 Bishopsgate last month for £110m.
An industry source said: “Currently, a skyscraper like that will get rents of £45 per sq ft – that is what the Gherkin is getting. But Difa will only be building off projected future rents of £50-£55 per sq ft.”
DP9 is advising Difa on planning, while City Offices is development manager.Six-page special, p50
