The City of London has announced plans for a new serviced offices occupant – an imposing 700,000 sq ft character set to reside at 5 Broadgate, deep in the City of London. It will be the new headquarters of Swiss investment bank UBS, supplanting the existing buildings at numbers 4 and 6, which will be pulled down.
The announcement comes amid a conservation row involving landlords Blackstone and British Land, who will demolish the buildings in the face of opposition from heritage societies wanting them to be listed and Broadgate to be designated a conservation area.
English Heritage is expected to report in May on whether they intend to press ahead with their bid to get Broadgate listed, a move that could yet scupper the deal.
The need to develop the City and maintain London’s reputation as a financial powerhouse is believed to have been crucial in the committee’s decision to give the go-ahead for the project. City of London policy chairman Stuart Fraser outlined the ‘commitment to providing a business environment that can continue to attract the world’s leading firms for many years to come’.
The £340m building is designed by Ken Shuttleworth, an architect with a rich pedigree in creating innovative new serviced offices, having worked on designs for 30 St Mary Axe, also known as ‘The Gherkin’.
It is described as a ‘striking and eye catching addition to the new architecture of the City’ in the committee’s report.
It continues the commitment to sustainability orientated serviced offices, mirroring nearby Heron Tower’s choice of photovoltaics and solar panels. Green roofs and terraces will be incorporated for biodiversity, and water consumption within the serviced offices will be reduced by harvesting rainwater.
Chris Grigg, British Land’s CEO, emphasised the advantages of such serviced offices when highlighting ‘the importance of the current and future needs of key occupiers for attractive, flexible and sustainable floor space’.
5 Broadgate will contain four 6,000 sq ft trading floors and UBS, one of Europe’s largest banks, intends to move in by 2016 – heritage issues permitting.
