City's tallest skyscraper fully let despite working from home boom
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The City tallest skyscraper has put up the “no vacancies” sign after its last available office space was snapped up. The vast 62 storey tower at 22 Bishopsgate was seen as a potential white elephant when construction completed in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
However demand for space in the 1.2 million sq ft building has been far stronger than expected and it is now fully let. The last vacant space, the 25,000 sq ft level five has been leased to RiverStone International, an acquirer of legacy and discontinued insurance business, on a 15 year deal.
The 278 meter high landmark is the second tallest in the UK after The Shard and the 18th highest in Europe. Construction work on the site started as long ago as 2008 when an earlier scheme, known as The Pinnacle, got under way. However, work weas suspended in 2012 after the financial crisis with only the concrete core of the first seven storeys visible above ground. A redesign by London based PLP Architecture was approved by City planners in 2015 and work started on the current bulding, owned by a consortium led by French investors Axa, in 2016.
The building is now home to more than 100 businesses including 77 start-ups and SMEs in its flex and co-working space, and 27 larger tenants on longer term office leases of primarily 10 to 15 years length. It also has Europe’s highest free public viewing gallery, Horizon 22, and five Gordon Ramsay restaurant sites, including Asian inspired Lucky cat Bishopsgate, due to open next month.