AXA has £1bn plan for 50 Fenchurch site
AXA IM Alts is planning a new £1bn tower in the City after buying 50 Fenchurch Street, EC3, from the Clothworkers’ Company.
The investor has won planning for a 36-storey building on the 1.2-acre plot, with work due to start in 2024 and complete in 2028. The livery company, one of the City’s Great Twelve, dating back to 1528, was selling a 250-year lease on the site for around £120m.
AXA’s plans will cost more than £1bn to realise and will include 650,000 sq ft of office space, along with retail and restaurants on the ground floor.
AXA IM Alts is planning a new £1bn tower in the City after buying 50 Fenchurch Street, EC3, from the Clothworkers’ Company.
The investor has won planning for a 36-storey building on the 1.2-acre plot, with work due to start in 2024 and complete in 2028. The livery company, one of the City’s Great Twelve, dating back to 1528, was selling a 250-year lease on the site for around £120m.
AXA’s plans will cost more than £1bn to realise and will include 650,000 sq ft of office space, along with retail and restaurants on the ground floor.
The 150m-high building, designed by Eric Parry Architects, will be net zero in operation, is targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating, and will feature sustainability and wellness initiatives such as green walls, designed to mitigate air and noise pollution and improve biodiversity.
Isabelle Scemama, global head of AXA IM Alts and chief executive of AXA IM Real Assets, said: “Since the pandemic there has been a pronounced increase in demand from occupiers for high quality, sustainable and wellness-focussed offices.
“We have seen this first hand at our flagship development 22 Bishopsgate which is now 80% let and expect this flight to quality to become even more acute over the coming years as businesses adapt to new working patterns. 50 Fenchurch presents us with another rare opportunity to secure a prime development site in the City of London, which we continue to believe is one of the most desirable office locations in the world.”
Clerk to The Clothworkers’ Company and chief executive of The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Jocelyn Stuart-Grumbar said the development was part of its long-term strategy for investing in the future of The Clothworkers’ Company and The Clothworkers’ Foundation and offered the “opportunity to unlock our assets and increase our charitable impact as we help our communities rebuild from the pandemic and secure our philanthropic legacy for the next 500 years”.
YardNine will act as the development partner for 50 Fenchurch Street. Director Maxwell Shand said: “Having recently completed nearby landmark office building, EightyFen, and with plans for Edenica at 100 Fetter Lane well advanced, we are very well positioned to use our experience to help deliver 50 Fenchurch Street.”
He added: “Occupier demand for high-quality space that aligns with their ESG and flexible working policies is only set to continue in the years ahead and we very much look forward to working with AXA IM Alts to bring this iconic development to London’s skyline.”
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Image: AXA IM Alts
