London’s One Angel Court development has shaken up the status quo of London’s Square Mile by luring several ‘non-City’ businesses to the new, mixed-use development next to the Bank of England in the capital’s financial heartland.
The iconic tower – developed by Mitsui Fudosan and Stanhope – opened its doors in March 2017 and, when the final occupier moves in later this quarter, will have 21 office tenants spread across 300,000 sq ft of office space spanning 24 floors.
The capital has long been split into districts dominated by certain industries: banks and financial services firms have long congregated around the Bank of England, hedge funds dominate Mayfair, insurers still cluster around Lloyd’s market and – more recently – tech firms have taken over Shoreditch.
However, One Angel Court – with its roof terraces, garden floors, and quiet pedestrianised zone served by four speciality restaurants – has attracted a new breed of tenants to the capital’s traditional financial district. Its unique mid-building café, Wi-Fi enabled communal business lounge and roof terrace – which also serves as an amenity floor and event space for occupiers – has been universally well received by occupiers and a model now followed by other developers.
Eight of the tenants moved from West End offices, three companies chose the development as the site in which to open their first offices in central London, while 10 companies relocated from elsewhere within the City.
Tenants include healthcare, cyber security and blockchain companies as well as oil and gas, business services firms and management consultants alongside other more traditional finance groups.
Eiichiro Onozawa, Managing Director of Mitsui Fudosan (UK) Ltd, said:
“The City has traditionally been dominated by banking and finance businesses but new, innovative developments – featuring a range of modern amenities, communal spaces and varied restaurants – such as One Angel Court, appeal to companies across a diverse range of sectors. The lounge also proved to be a key factor in attracting this broad spectrum of tenants and helped us fill the building in what remains an extremely uncertain economic and political environment in the UK.”
“More than half of our tenants have either never had an office in the City or never had an office in central London at all, which speaks volumes about the attractiveness of One Angel Court.”
As well as further enhancing London’s skyline by replacing a 1970s tower with a striking new building, which turns translucent in the daylight, the development offers panoramic views from its ‘Sky’ and ‘Garden’ floors with garden-access for all occupiers to use.
David Camp, Chief Executive of Stanhope plc, added:
“With working habits having changed a great deal in recent years, it was crucial that we complemented the top quality office accommodation the development provides with a varied leisure offer, which has clearly hit the right note with employers who know how important an attractive and efficient workplace is to attracting – and retaining – the best people.
“The impact the development has had on a street level – transforming a dark alleyway into a bright pedestrian street and a lively gastronomic destination, including modern Peruvian restaurant Coya, Natural Kitchen and speciality food and wine bar Notes – has also been a huge pull for forward-thinking businesses who, perhaps view the Square Mile in a different light now.”
Leasing teams from BH2, Cushman & Wakefield and JLL acted on behalf of Mitsui Fudosan and Stanhope for the office accommodation while Nash Bond worked on the restaurant space.
