Global technology giant Apple has signed for a further 76,140 square feet of offices at 22 Bishopsgate, the City of London's tallest tower, CoStar News can reveal.
The 10-year lease is for space across the 20th, 21st and 28th floors. The iPhone, iPad and iMac maker has already leased 130,546 square foot across the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 35th floors in two separate transactions, meaning it now occupies more than 200,000 square feet at AXA-IM Alts and Lipton Rogers' landmark development.
It is unclear which part of Apple will occupy the latest space but its Apple Pay team has already leased offices at the tower.
It is also unclear what rent Apple has paid, but owner AXA-IM Alts secured the top office rent in the City this year in August at the tower as it moves close to fully occupancy. That deal was global cyber security group Palo Alto Networks taking 21,496 square feet at £105 per square feet on the 55th floor. Savills reports that was the highest rent in the City of London in a year, and the first secured at over £100 per square feet in that period.
CBRE and JLL advises AXA-IM Alts while Cushman & Wakefield has advised Apple on its leasing at 22 Bishopsgate.
The letting is another major commitment to the capital by Apple.
It has also prelet a 500,000 square foot headquarters at the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, which opens to the public this Friday. It has not been confirmed when Apple will take occupancy at the station in one of the capital's largest office lettings of recent years.
Mark Stansfield, head of UK analytics at CoStar, said: “Apple’s expansion into a further 76,000 square feet at 22 Bishopsgate takes its total occupation at the building to 205,000 square feet and illustrates the ongoing appeal of high-quality, sustainable space in strong locations, even as office net absorption across the capital remains weak and the vacancy rate continues to rise.
"The deal, alongside other large lettings to Tata Communications and Palo Alto Networks a few months earlier, also highlights the City Core’s increasingly diverse occupier demand base, with EC2 no longer as dominated by financial services as it used to be. Apple’s latest letting takes 22 Bishopsgate, which is London’s largest office building at 1.4 million square feet, to 85% leased 22 months after its completion in December 2020.“
CoStar News revealed last month that Bank of America had financed the tower with a £1.25 billion loan.
The five-year loan agreed with owner AXA reflects about 50% loan to value and carries a margin in the mid-hundreds of basis points.
AXA bought the site for £300 million in February 2015. The property is the tallest tower in the City of London and covers 1.4 million square feet across 62 floors.
It is let to multiple tenants. Apple UK is the biggest while other tenants include Hiscox, AXA IM itself and Reinsurance Group of America. In February, AXA announced it had let 75% of the property.
With seven deals and 310,000 square feet of lettings signed over the past year, the company said leasing momentum at the building has remained robust despite COVID-19 related uncertainty.
22 Bishopsgate was developed by AXA IM Alts’ Real Assets platform alongside development partner Lipton Rogers Developments.
For a CoStar News feature on the development of 22 Bishopsgate and its drive to innovate click here.
Apple joins a number of famous US names that have lifted the UK's office markets with big occupier moves in recent weeks.
AXA-IM and its advisers declined to comment.