Partners Group to spec develop £200m London scheme

Partners Group has backed a £200m speculative development scheme at 80 Fenchurch Street in the City of London.

The Swiss-headquartered investment manager said it would develop a Grade A office building on the site with its joint venture development partner Marick Real Estate. The total project cost is expected to be £200m.

Partners Group completed its purchase of the site this week from Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency for a price believed to be around £50m. It will begin demolition of the vacant office building on the site at the end of June and start building in early 2016 for completion by early 2018.

The new TP Bennett-designed building will be a 14-storey, 245,000 sq ft office building including a series of tiered roof gardens.

The speculative development will be one of the few in recent years that’s been fully financed before a pre-let has been announced.

Stuart Keith, vice president of private real estate at Partners Group, said: “The recent rebound in the UK economy has created a significant supply-demand imbalance in the City of London in terms of Grade A office space, with vacancy levels close to historic lows and rents steadily climbing. Eighty Fenchurch will be perfectly placed in terms of location, timing and quality of build to capitalize on this attractive market opportunity.”