Lim Por-yen a Chinese Billionaire makes up the final piece of the Hong Kong conglomerate to purchase a portion of land in London next to the Gherkin, 30 St Mary’s Axe. Lim has put forward £100 million to help Lai Sun, a Chinese development company who is using London & Oriental to invest in the UK, to buy 100 Leadenhall Street from Nord Capital. In May this year Lai Sun purchased the adjacent Bankside House from RBS for £60 million, however leases expire in 2025 so unless the current tenants are bought out they will have to wait until then to redevelop the land. Savills are advising Lai Sun on the project.

It has been suggested a new skyscraper will be erected at the site which will sit opposite the planned Scalpel Tower.  Currently there are no construction plans drawn up for the skyscraper so we can only speculate how it will look; however Andrew Ingram a surveyor at Morgan Pryce “is confident it will be a positive addition to the London skyline and no doubt will become an iconic building standing shoulder to shoulder with the Gherkin and the Scalpel.”

The news of this proposed development hasn’t come as a surprise despite staying relatively quiet in tabloids; according to Deloitte Real Estate’s office crane survey the number of office developments starting construction in London has nearly doubled in the last 6 months with the steepest rise in the City. 10 new buildings are currently being constructed creating approximately 1.5 million sqft in the City. However the total amount of new office space under construction is down from the long run average of 10 million sq. ft. to 7.7 million sq. ft. – this shortage of space is reflected by continuingly high rents across central London.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, 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.