US property giant Tishman Speyer is in talks to help fund the £1bn redevelopment of Legal & General’s Bucklersbury House.
The investor – owner of the Rockefeller Center in New York – is frontrunner to provide part of the development finance needed for the 1m sq ft mixed-use development on Queen Victoria Street, EC4, known as Walbrook Square.
Other parties, including Canadian pension fund Oxford Properties, are also vying to buy into the scheme.
Sources close to L&G said that the fund manager would continue to spearhead the development and retain ownership of the site, which has been dogged by tenure issues following the sale of the leasehold to Metrovacesa in 2007.
The beleaguered Spanish property firm agreed to pay a £100m penalty charge to pull out of the acquisition last August.
Tishman’s bid to fund the project has stemmed from its close relationship with media giant Bloomberg, which – as revealed by Estates Gazette in the spring – is favouring Walbrook Square for a 500,000 sq ft prelet (27 March, p25).
The pair have collaborated on City investment projects before. In 2000, Tishman sold City Gate House at 45 Finsbury Circus, EC2, to occupier Bloomberg for £69m to help fund its development programme.
James Beckham, City partner at King Sturge, said: “Tishman and Bloomberg already have a relationship in the US so working together would be a natural fit for Walbrook Square.
“For L&G to have a major international developer on board would both diversify its risk and at the same time bring in additional expertise for a large-scale City centre scheme.”
L&G is reviewing the design of Walbrook Square as it begins a demolition programme at the 3.7-acre site.
L&G development director Helen Gordon has said that any alteration to the scheme would reflect market conditions and the needs of potential occupiers.
The current plans (pictured) have been designed by Jean Nouvel and Lord Foster and comprise 875,000 sq ft of offices across four buildings, including a 22-storey tower, plus 95,000 sq ft of shops.
Jones Lang LaSalle and Nigel Fox act for L&G; GM Real Estate advises Tishman; BNP PRE acts for Bloomberg.
