(Bloomberg) -- British Land Co. has rented out almost a third of a major City of London redevelopment four years ahead of its scheduled completion, in a further vote of confidence for the capital’s office market.
Real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has agreed to take 134,000 square feet (12,450 square meters) of space at 1 Broadgate in the heart of the financial district, according to a statement Thursday. The building will house Chicago-based JLL’s flagship U.K. office upon its expected completion in 2025.
“1 Broadgate will be central to our plan as we recognise the importance that offices play in collaboration, innovation and fostering culture and wellbeing,” Stephanie Hyde, JLL’s head of U.K. and Ireland, said in the statement.
Bloomberg reported last month that British Land were also in talks to lease about 300,000 square feet of office space at 1 Broadgate to law firm Allen & Overy, according to people familiar with the negotiations. That would be the biggest office lease signed in London since the onset of the pandemic.
Large companies in London that want new state-of-the-art space are being forced to pin down new premises several years in advance due to the relative dearth of planned office projects. That’s creating a two-tier market, where rents for the best new buildings remain high even as older buildings suffer from a surplus of space being offered for sublet by firms that are shrinking.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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