International real estate advisory JLL will move to a new headquarters around London’s Liverpool Street in what is thought to be one of the biggest deals in the capital this year.
Jones Lang LaSalle said it would take over around 134,000 square feet of office space in British Land’s 1 Broadgate development from 2026, even as many companies look away from city centre locations after the pandemic.
The 15-year contract locks JLL into an office space that will be the greenest ever built by developer British Land.
It marks the end of a hunt for a new office that has taken JLL more than three years.
In 2017, the company announced it was looking for a new 180,000 sq ft space it could call home.
It would consolidate the company’s West End, City of London and Canary Wharf sites into one space.
The final deal is around one quarter smaller than had been indicated three years ago.
However, the 2017 announcement listed 180,000 sq ft as the maximum that the business was looking for.
Since then some of its requirements have changed, something that predated the pandemic, JLL said.
Experts have predicted a decline in growth in city centre office space over the next few years.
Workers and businesses have tasted benefits of working from home during Covid-19 lockdowns, and many are predicted to continue some form of flexible working.
It is a major deal for British Land, with JLL taking up around a third of the office space at 1 Broadgate.
The developer is set to start demolishing the old buildings on the site next month, with the building set to open in 2025.
“We are thrilled that JLL has chosen this fantastic building for its new UK flagship office. The move is a real vote of confidence in London, a further endorsement of our campus strategy, and of Broadgate’s status as a world class, mixed use destination,” British Land said.
The building will be the most energy efficient in British Land’s portfolio to date.
It will consume around 55 kilowatt hours per square metre every year.
According to Government statistics, new homes built in 2017 without gas heating and cooking used around 88 kWh per square metre.
