UK developer Stanhope and Japanese investment giant Mitsubishi Estate London are in talks for a series of substantial lettings at 8 Bishopsgate, their flagship office development in the City of London, CoStar News can reveal.
The 50-storey building, designed by WilkinsonEyre Architects, comprises 560,000 square feet of offices with 75,000 square feet of amenity space, including a 200-seat auditorium, meeting rooms and executive suites, a café, a business lounge, a restaurant, bar and public terrace, and multiple private terraces. The building also features The Lookout, a public viewing gallery and event space on the 50th floor.
CoStar News understands that CFC Underwriting, a commercial insurance underwriter based in five floors at 85 Gracechurch Street in Leadenhall, is in talks to lease up to 140,000 square feet at the development.
In addition, SCOR, one of the world's largest reinsurers, is in talks to take around 60,000 square feet. The French company is based at Asia House, 10 Lime Street in the City, where it occupies seven floors.
Market sources said lawyer King & Spalding, which is based at 125 Old Broad Street, is eyeing around 40,000 square feet.
New York law firm Proskauer Rose, based in the Salesforce Tower in the City, is also being linked by market sources to the building, for a circa 60,000-square-foot move.
Market sources said the lettings would take the new development to around 75% leased, in a further example of a pick-up in activity in City of London office lettings at the new best space.
Earlier this week, M&G said "the City is back" as it confirmed that Acrisure has leased 50,827 square feet at 40 Leadenhall taking the 900,000-square-foot tower development to 70% prelet ahead of its completion next year.
The market is being boosted too by corporates taking up agreed options on more space, for instance Latham & Watkins at Brookfield's 1 Leadenhall and Kirkland & Ellis at 40 Leadenhall. Kirkland & Ellis is understood to have taken up an option for a further 80,000 square feet recently.
CFC and SCOR would join Atrium, which signed a 10-year lease for the 20th floor, comprising 14,570 square feet of offices, in May, and international law frm HFW which was the first tenant, having taken 60,000 square feet at the building close to Liverpool Street Station.
Atrium said 8 Bishopsgate emerged as the preferred choice due to its "best in class sustainability credentials which align with Atrium’s values and commitments, the buildings unrivalled amenity spaces and its proximity to Lloyd’s [the insurance market]".
The building was the first speculatively developed tower to target a BREEAM Outstanding rating and EPC A and the design has been developed to achieve both low embodied carbon in construction and operation.
Mitsubishi Estate London and Stanhope are represented by Newmark BH2 and Knight Frank.
Stanhope did not comment.