Japanese property giant picks former restaurant for European HQ
One of Japan’s oldest construction conglomerates has picked an unlikely spot for its new European office headquarters: a former restaurant space at the foot of the West End’s Centre Point tower, WC1 (pictured).
The European arm of Kajima, the Japanese property giant founded in 1840, moved into the 5,500 sq ft space owned by Almacantar at the beginning of the year, on a decade-long lease.
In doing so, Kajima becomes the latest central London occupier to convert a former retail site into an office, having moved from its previous European base on Baker Street. It is also the first office letting on the Centre Point estate since Almacantar bought it for £120m in 2011.
One of Japan’s oldest construction conglomerates has picked an unlikely spot for its new European office headquarters: a former restaurant space at the foot of the West End’s Centre Point tower, WC1 (pictured).
The European arm of Kajima, the Japanese property giant founded in 1840, moved into the 5,500 sq ft space owned by Almacantar at the beginning of the year, on a decade-long lease.
In doing so, Kajima becomes the latest central London occupier to convert a former retail site into an office, having moved from its previous European base on Baker Street. It is also the first office letting on the Centre Point estate since Almacantar bought it for £120m in 2011.
Jonathan Evans, Almacantar’s asset management and leasing director, described the move as the latest example of a “shift in demand for occupiers in the West End,” triggered by the coronavirus outbreak last year. For landlords, he added, the decision “reinforces the need to be agile and innovative during a period of unprecedented change”.
Almacantar has made significant refurbishments at the 1960s Centre Point residential tower and the square at its foot, behind Tottenham Court Road underground station, over the last decade.
However, roughly 41,000 sq ft of commercial space beneath it has been used solely for retail until now. The fit-out for Kajima’s office was designed by Gibson Thornley Architects.
John Harcourt, managing director at Kajima Properties, added: “We were looking for an office that combined our need for a central and easily accessible location in London, and that had a great amenity offer, with our desire for something that was out of the ordinary and reflected our design ambitions for an inspiring and collaborative working environment.”
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Photo: Chris Downer
