The City of London Corporation has opened the bidding in an auction for the right to brand some of the Square Mile’s most iconic buildings.
The news follows extensive soul searching by the Corporation which only last autumn blocked a move by Salesforce to re-brand a prominent skyscraper in the district.
The cloud computing giant hoped to change the name of the Heron Tower to Salesforce Tower, after taking just six floors of the 46-storey building.
The proposal angered traditionalists who argued that it would set a precedent that could devalue the integrity of the City. Fellow tenants of the office tower were also opposed to the move.
In the end the Corporation ruled that Salesforce was not a ‘sufficiently dominant’ occupier to justify an authorised building name. Consequently, the City threw out the application and renamed the building 110 Bishopsgate.
However, informed sources have revealed that the Corporation has shifted its position considerably since September and, from today, will allow property owners to auction the naming rights of their assets to the highest bidders.
“They (the City of London Corporation) have come to the conclusion that, in order to maintain the capital’s status as an international business destination, they need to offer more than office accommodation alone,” a source explained.
“Granting owners the right to market their assets to interested sponsors – who will then be entitled to add signage – will attract even greater investment and could ultimately transform the City into a glittering billboard for many of the best known brands in the world.”
This volte-face will allow investors to maximise their income in the same way that owners of football stadiums and entertainment venues are able to, and is reportedly attracting a great deal of interest, particularly for the naming rights of the City’s trophy buildings.
Our sources tell us that Cheezy Chapz, a US manufacturer of children’s processed foods, is already in negotiations with British Land over the naming rights of The Leadenhall Building.
The company is planning a multi-million dollar European expansion following an agreement with EU health ministers to halve the number of artificial preservatives in its products.
If a deal is reached it is believed the firm will officially rename the building The Chapz Cheezegrater and negotiate the installation of a cartoon-style neon logo above the tower’s canopy.
The naming rights of another ‘object shaped’ building, 30 St Mary Axe, are also believed to be the subject of negotiations between its Brazilian owners and a French pickled vegetable exporter.
Speaking on behalf of the Marseilles based company, CEO Jacques Blague said: “As a leading supplier of tasty pickles, The Gherkin – a world-class building in a world-class city – is the natural vehicle to expose our world-class business to a wider market.”
Other City skyscrapers believed to be in line for corporate rebranding include the Grade I listed Lloyds Building, Tower 42 (formerly known as The NatWest Tower) and 20 Fenchurch Street (The Walkie-Talkie) – which is attracting interest from a number of mobile phone manufacturers.
Unsurprisingly, the move has recieved a cool reception from some quarters. A spokesman for one longstanding City landlord insisted his firm would not be engaging in the naming rights auction.
“This is the City. If we wanted our assets lit up like Christmas trees we’d invest in Las Vegas,” he said.
