British Land has been chosen to develop the new mixed-use scheme based between Shoreditch and the City. The City of London Corporation has chosen British Land over a number of large London developers, including Allied London and Development Securities, to redevelop the Shoreditch Estate. Two years ago Shoreditch wasn’t even on the map for large office occupiers, but over the last 18 months or so rents have gone through the roof as tech firms have demanded space in the “Tech City”. Rents in the area are now reaching heights of £42.50 per square foot compared to the £17 per square foot they could achieve only 18 months ago. This extreme demand for warehouse space and “characterful” space, along with the spike in rents, has clearly had a large impact on the market in this area, with the British Lane development being the largest one to date in Shoreditch.

The huge surge in demand for converted warehouse office space in Shoreditch has led to the City of London Corporation picking this site to develop a 300,000-square-foot office development whose purpose is to soak up the media demand. The site itself sits between the Derwent London Tea Building, the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, and Spitalfields Market. The plan is to split the development into three separate schemes and to redevelop the 22 buildings on site into the focal point of ‘Tech City’ Shoreditch.

Eugene O’Sullivan, from Morgan Pryce, believes the site constitutes an extremely important location: “British Land’s acquisition sits in between the main transport hub, the ‘Silicon Roundabout’, which is home to Shoreditch High Street tube station, and the iconic Tea Building. The scheme’s ambition, when let, is clearly to become the central point for the TMT industry and the owners will hope to achieve rents high into the forties and fifties.”

Morgan Pryce is a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.