A new office development in London’s trendy Shoreditch district that has been marketed as a “media style” space has instead secured a law firm as its main tenant.
Kingsley Napley has prelet the first to fifth floors, as well as its own ground-floor entrance, in the seven-storey Twenty Bonhill, EC2, according to Allsop, the agency advising developer the Max Barney Estate.
The firm is understood to be paying a rent of just above £60 per sq ft on a 15-year lease. The building, expected to be complete in September 2020, is now almost three-quarters let, according to Allsop partner James Neville.
Marketing for Twenty Bonhill describes it as a “media-style office building” in a neighbourhood known for “cool vibes”.
Kingsley Napley’s move further east – its current headquarters are in Clerkenwell – comes as several law firms rethink their strategies around property, moving to new offices or redesigning their existing ones.
In a new report, JLL said many law firms historically made the mistake of viewing workplaces and property “as something of secondary importance”. But with competition increasing and the pressure to attract the right employees growing law firms are putting a greater focus on the kind of workplace they offer staff.
This includes redesigning offices to encourage more flexible working in open-plan space. Announcing Kingsley Napley’s move, managing partner Linda Woolley said the firm had “been able to influence many elements of the design, including layout, infrastructure and décor [at Twenty Bonhill], which will allow us to work flexibly, productively and efficiently”.
JLL estimated that law firms had a collective requirement of 850,000 sq ft in London as of the end of June, compared with 750,000 sq ft of take-up in the capital last year, itself a three-year high.
BH2 advised Kingsley Napley on the move.
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