Merlin Entertainments has expanded its office footprint at Arbor, the flagship office building at Native Land’s mixed-use development at Bankside Yards. The global leader in branded entertainment destinations moved to secure the remaining half of the 17th floor of the building after the southern half was leased by the multinational technology consultancy Wipro in April 2024.
Merlin Entertainments took a ten-year lease on 13,500 sq ft of space on the 16th floor of Arbor in January 2024. The additional 5,000 sq ft will accommodate growth of the business and increased office attendance.
Arbor is one of the few newly completed, ESG-focused, prime office buildings in the central London market. The 222,000-sq-ft next generation workspace is now over 75% let to a range of global occupiers, setting a new benchmark for the South Bank market.
Alasdair Nicholls, Chief Executive of Native Land, said:
“Merlin Entertainments’ decision to expand its occupational footprint at Arbor is an outstanding endorsement of the quality of the environment that Native Land is developing at Bankside Yards.
“Bankside is one of London’s most exciting and culturally rich neighbourhoods. It’s a place that people choose to visit and are delighted to work in. Bankside Yards capitalises on the peerless connectivity and amenity on offer here, to create a new district on the south bank that has proven hugely attractive to the world’s leading companies.”
Bankside Yards is one of the most significant placemaking developments underway in central London. It comprises a world-class mix of prime riverside residential, headquarters workplace, 5-star hospitality space and exceptional amenities, on a scale that reflects the site’s strategic location in a global gateway city.
Designed by PLP Architecture in conjunction with Stiff and Trevillion, Arbor provides 19 storeys of office accommodation. A dedicated floor for wellness amenities includes more than 300 cycle and scooter spaces and a multi-purpose exercise room, together with top quality end-of-journey facilities.
As part of the wider 1.4 million sq ft Bankside Yards development, Arbor uses 100% electrical power from renewable sources, and will be part of a 5th Generation energy sharing network, of a scale unprecedented in the UK, which will deliver reductions in energy use and enable the site to achieve net zero carbon in operation.
Ingleby Trice and Knight Frank are leasing agents for Arbor. JLL acted as the tenant representative for Merlin.
