A partnership between Shorea Capital and Native Land reveals its plans for SIRA at 188 City Road, an innovative office retrofit scheme located in Old Street, EC1.
188 City Road, originally built as the head office for the Lipton Tea Company, occupies a prominent corner site next to Moorfields Eye Hospital and close to Old Street station in the East London Tech City cluster.
Targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating, re-use of the building will see 70% of the existing structure retained or restored, while comfort and energy performance are brought up to class-leading contemporary standards, resulting in a net-zero carbon operation.
The consented development, designed by a team led by Stiff + Trevillion Architects, will feature highly efficient, all-electric building services, high-performance glazing and green roofs.
The building’s net floor area will be increased to 42,000 sq ft through the addition of sensitively-designed fourth and fifth floors, a single-storey mansard floor and a rooftop pavilion to create a private terrace for occupiers. The building’s core will be repositioned to provide open-plan floorplates of over 5,500 sq ft accompanied by high-end amenities, including extensive cycle parking arrangements and end-of-trip facilities.
8Build has been appointed as the contractor to deliver the scheme, with a target completion set for Q4 2025.
Eng Yaw Ong, Managing Director of Shorea Capital, said:
“SIRA is a key addition to our portfolio of high-quality commercial properties. We are proud to be working with Native Land to deliver a future-proof ESG-compliant office building strategically positioned to cater to the growing demand for best-in-class workspace.”
Alasdair Nicholls, Chief Executive of Native Land, said:
“We are committed to delivering sustainable places and adding value through cutting-edge practices. At 188 City Road, we are proud to be working with Shorea, to be retaining the character and embodied carbon of the existing building, while bringing it up to the highest modern workspace standards. With the recent upgrades to the Old Street roundabout and station, this prime location is now even more exciting and accessible.”
188 City Road was acquired by Shorea Capital in 2021 under its London Office Fund and is part of the fund’s brown-to-green value-add strategy. The Shorea Capital London Office Fund is a private equity real estate fund that invests in value-add opportunities in Central London and focuses on commercial property.
The team also comprises Heyne Tillett Steel as structural engineer and NDY as Building Services engineer.
Savills and Ellis Brown have been appointed as leasing agents.
