British Land teams up with Canadians for City skyscraper
British Land is teaming up with Canada’s Oxford Properties to develop the Leadenhall Building in the City, in the second of two crisis-hit skyscraper projects to be revived within a week.
Britain’s second largest property company said it had agreed terms to build the 47-storey tall scheme in a 50:50 joint venture with the real estate arm of the OMERS Worldwide Group of Companies, one of Canada’s largest pension plans.
The total development cost is estimated at £338.5m.
Last week, British Land’s biggest rival Land Securities announced it would resume construction work on a 37-storey building known as the Walkie Talkie Building at nearby 20 Fenchurch Street after striking a similar tie-up with Canary Wharf Group.
The Leadenhall Building is expected to inject 610,000 square feet of space into London’s supply-starved office market, while the Land Securities project will add around 690,000 square feet of commercial space.
Construction on both schemes is due to resume in January, with completion due on the Leadenhall Building in the second quarter of 2014, the quarter after Land Securities aims to complete its project.