AXA IM Alts has agreed to two new leases at 22 Bishopsgate, which means the building is now 75% let.
The new leases, totalling c.89,000 sq ft, have been signed with global investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management firm William Blair & Company and RSA Insurance Group.
William Blair, which is US-headquartered, has agreed to a 15-year lease across two and a half floors on the forty-seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth levels of the building, signing up to c. 64,000 sq ft in total. Separately, RSA has agreed to take c.25,000 sq ft across the entire eighth floor, on a 15-year lease, with its employees joining the building from the second half of this year.
The new tenants will benefit from access to over 120,000 sq ft of shared space and amenities throughout the building, allowing 22 Bishopsgate to deliver a more cost-effective and efficient occupation while allowing optimal space for each company to grow. This space includes ‘The Market’ – 22 Bishopsgate’s 20,000 sq ft food hub, run in partnership with leading hospitality group, Rhubarb; ‘The Exchange’ – a central innovation centre; as well as business events and conference space. The building incorporates state-of-the-art technology to support productive and agile working and offers touchless entry systems as well as an app that allows residents to book gym classes, pre-order food and drink, and manage the meeting room booking system.
22 Bishopsgate also has a focus on people and well-being. In addition to its gym, run by BXR and containing London’s first ‘sky-wall’ climbing window at 125 metres above ground, William Blair and RSA employees will be able to access ‘The Retreat’, the building’s wellbeing space on the forty-first floor, as well as the building’s Active Commuter Park with storage for up to c. 1,100 bikes. 22 Bishopsgate also offers the capital’s highest free-to-access public viewing gallery, as well as a restaurant and bar, with art interventions throughout.
The 18th and 19th occupiers to commit to the building, William Blair and RSA will join a diversified range of businesses, eight of which have already completed their office fit-outs and have begun to welcome staff to their new homes, with a further six companies across ten floors preparing space for occupancy in the coming months.
Phillip Shalless, Senior Asset Manager at AXA IM Alts, commented: “Over the past year, leasing momentum at 22 Bishopsgate has remained robust. We have agreed 310,000 sq ft of new leases, most recently to William Blair and RSA, who further diversify and enhance our mix of existing high-quality occupiers. These commitments bring the building to 75% let, which is a huge achievement just a year after completion and particularly against the backdrop of the global pandemic. This milestone is testament to 22 Bishopsgate’s excellent amenities and smart technology, both of which enable high levels of wellbeing and productivity. Over 950,000 sq ft of the office space is now leased - out of a total lettable area of 1.275 million sq ft - which means that 22 Bishopsgate now has the highest amount of office space let across any building in London.
“We are seeing a continued flight to quality in the sector, with outdated secondary offices becoming obsolete while appetite for future-proofed, high-quality buildings remains strong. 22 Bishopsgate reflects the changing way in which we want to live and work, and we expect our strong pipeline to convert into further leases over the coming months.”