Sustainable City of London office development receives £165m investment

Independent real estate group Topland is backing the near-term future of the City of London’s office market with a £165m investment (GDV) into a new speculative development.

Verdant, as the new scheme will be known, is a significant redevelopment of 3-4 Bartholomew Place / 150 Aldersgate Street, immediately next to the new Elizabeth Line Station at Farringdon, that will offer 135,000 sq ft of high-quality, sustainable space on completion in 2024.

Topland Group, the private family office of billionaire brothers Sol and Eddie Zakay, in conjunction with development managers Beltane, have now appointed contractor Midgard to start work on the major new development.

The building will achieve a low embodied carbon footprint by reusing approximately 80 per cent of the existing structure, offer natural ventilation throughout and a bespoke biophilic design integrated into the architecture.

In addition, there are green roofs, terraces, hard and soft landscaping, and the creation of external courtyards. Cushman & Wakefield and BH2 are acting as leasing agents at Verdant.

Sol Zakay, chairman and CEO of Topland Group, commented: “We believe there has been an over-reaction to the shifting dynamics of the City’s office market now that hybrid working is here to stay.

“This, coupled with the prevailing economic headwinds, has seen some developers get cold feet. As a result, we are facing a shortage of quality, new space over the next three years.

“A sustainable, high-quality building situated on the Elizabeth Line route is ideally poised to capture the demand from major corporate occupiers from a number of sectors that are looking for landmark headquarters buildings in what is still one of the world’s premier business locations.

“We have been in discussions with parties regarding a pre-letting and we are very confident to proceed with the scheme on a speculative basis given the high quality of the design, excellent location and strong ESG credentials of Verdant.”

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