Native Land has successfully let its first office development on completion, as part of a diversified strategy to focus on mixed-use development. London-based fintech company Smart will occupy the whole of OneThreeSix, a 44,500-sq-ft Grade A office building in George Street, Marylebone, London W1. Smart’s new global HQ will be known as ‘The Smart Building’.
Smart has signed a 15-year lease with a 10-year break, at a headline rent of £81.25 a sq ft, in one of the largest West End lettings since the start of the pandemic, demonstrating continued demand from occupiers for the best quality buildings with outside space. The company will relocate from its current headquarters in Paddington.
OneThreeSix, to be known as The Smart Building, is one of the first all-electric powered office buildings in central London, which will be operationally carbon zero from day one of occupation, with electricity from renewable sources. Completed in June 2021, the building is designed by architects Stiff + Trevillion with quality, productivity, sustainability and wellbeing as priorities, targeting BREEAM Excellent, WiredScore Gold and WELL Building Ready ratings.
The six-storey building features outdoor terraces on all but one of its six floors and impressive floor-to-ceiling windows. The sixth floor has a large wraparound terrace with 360-degree views over Marylebone. The building also benefits from a roof with photovoltaic panels, and 66 cycle spaces with lockers and showers.
Alasdair Nicholls, Native Land Chief Executive, said:
“At OneThreeSix we set out to develop a workplace with exemplary standards of sustainability, wellness and quality, to meet the growing demands of modern businesses and their employees. Smart’s decision to relocate there is a welcome endorsement of our strategy, which draws on more than twenty years’ experience in creating spaces which aim to enhance the lifestyles of the people that use them.”
Eamon Mulholland, Chief of Staff at Smart, said:
“We are delighted to sign the lease on this new global headquarters for Smart. After an extensive property evaluation process, we selected 136 George Street due to its state-of-the-art facilities, green energy credentials and central location. After an extended period of time working from home we are delighted to sign this lease just as we announce a £165 million Series D funding round. We look forward to later this year when we can welcome our colleagues to our new home, The Smart Building.”
OneThreeSix forms the office component of Native Land’s redevelopment of the former Regent House, in joint venture with The Portman Estate, which also includes 25 high-quality apartments in the residential element known as TwentyFive. Native Land has improved the public realm around the building, with widened pavements and high-quality walkways. The overall development is part of a wider transformation of the area by the Portman Estate, who will retain four new retail units on the ground floor.
Tom Knight, Portfolio Director at The Portman Estate said:
“The Portman Estate is delighted to welcome Smart Pension into the all-electric office, OneThreeSix. We very much look forward to seeing this carbon zero office building in use in the new era of the workplace. The Portman Estate is proud to be working with Native Land on such a ground-breaking development. This high-quality, mixed-use scheme with sustainability and wellbeing at its heart fits very much within our vision to reinvigorate Edgware Road.”
Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank were letting agents for Native Land. Smart was advised by Alder King.
