Lord Sugar’s redevelopment of City landmark 5 Cheapside, EC2, has secured one of the highest rents ever paid for non-tower space in the Square Mile.
London Executive Offices has agreed to lease the entire 40,126 sq ft of office space at the property, which has been rebranded as the Sugar Building.
The octagonal block, often known as the Threepenny Bit, occupies a prime site outside St Paul’s tube station and has been comprehensively refurbished and repositioned by Sugar’s property company Amsprop.
LEO is understood to have agreed to pay rents which average at £83 per sq ft on a 15-year lease.
Amsprop bought the building from Kuwaiti property company St Martin’s in 2012 for around £20m and stripped back its concrete cladding to provide a sleek modern exterior.
The deal takes LEO’s portfolio of London serviced offices to around 700,000 sq ft across 31 buildings, including 24 Berkeley Square, W1, 1 Cornhill, EC3, and 33 St James’s Square, SW1.
The company, owned by Jason Kow’s Queensgate Investments, markets itself as providing the most exclusive “five-star” serviced offices in the most desirable parts of the capital.
It plans to rename 5 Cheapside and undertake a high-spec fit–out.
The space, which offers panoramic views of St Paul’s Cathedral and the City skyline, will open in November.
LEO chief executive Tim Giles said: “We offer the very best luxury five-star serviced offices in prime central London and we’re delighted to have secured such an iconic asset – it’s an excellent addition to our portfolio and really complements our other centres by offering our customers a choice of style and location within the City core.”
Ingleby Trice and Savills are joint letting agents on the office space; LEO was not advised.
Sugar started to focus more strongly on his property empire back in 2006. He told EG about it first. Read the interview here>>
