22 Bishopsgate gets US investment bank as latest major tenant
The City of London’s tallest skyscraper is to welcome another major tenant in US investment bank William Blair, in the latest sign that the Square Mile’s office market is on the road to recovery.
William Blair is to take about 66,000 sq ft across three floors at 22 Bishopsgate, the flagship 62-storey tower owned by Axa IM Alts, EG can reveal.
The move will mean a significant expansion in London for the Chicago-based banking and asset management specialist, which currently occupies around 13,000 sq ft at the Broadgate Tower, EC2.
The City of London’s tallest skyscraper is to welcome another major tenant in US investment bank William Blair, in the latest sign that the Square Mile’s office market is on the road to recovery.
William Blair is to take about 66,000 sq ft across three floors at 22 Bishopsgate, the flagship 62-storey tower owned by Axa IM Alts, EG can reveal.
The move will mean a significant expansion in London for the Chicago-based banking and asset management specialist, which currently occupies around 13,000 sq ft at the Broadgate Tower, EC2.
That has functioned as William Blair’s UK headquarters for the last decade, but the bank is believed to be preparing to expand its headcount in the capital with this latest deal.
The deal marks the latest major letting at 22 Bishopsgate, which has already attracted tenants such as US legal giant Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, insurer Fidelis and the Korean Development Bank this year. They accompany law firms Cooley and Covington & Burling at the site.
The flurry of deals has been viewed by leading City agents as a sign that prime office space will continue to be in high demand post-pandemic, despite 18 months of uncertainty among occupiers over how they will use their offices going forward.
In total, 22 Bishopsgate provides 1.2m sq ft of office space, along with more than 100,000 sq ft of amenity space. It was developed by Lipton Rogers and Axa IM Alts.
The building includes a 20,000 sq ft food hub called The Market across the second floor, innovation hub The Exchange, a members’ club and a gym with London’s first sky-wall climbing window at 125m above the ground.
The 278-metre tower has drawn headlines this year for publicly having a dog-friendly policy, which comes as part of a focus on wellbeing from the landlord designed to help lure workers back into the office post-pandemic.
22 Bishopsgate also has a BREEAM Excellent environmental rating, with storage for about 1,700 bikes and repair facilities, electric charging points and changing facilities, as well as the capital’s highest free public viewing gallery.
JLL and CBRE are leasing agents at the site. All parties declined to comment.
To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@eg.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @EGPropertyNews
For more lettings in the City Core, see Radius >>
