Great Portland Estates (GPE) has announced that it has agreed a 82,000 sq ft flexible office partnership arrangement with Knotel at City Place House, 55 Basinghall Street, EC2. Knotel will operate the space until the building’s redevelopment in December 2021 and, together, GPE and Knotel will share the revenue generated by the businesses in occupation.
About City Place House, 55 Basinghall Street, EC2
City Place House forms part of GPE’s development pipeline. GPE says that the partnership with Knotel will maximise the income from the building ahead of its proposed development of the site. Discussions are ongoing with the City of London Corporation ahead of a major planning application which GPE says it anticipates submitting during the first half of 2020, with an expected start on site in early 2022.
The current building comprises 176,600 sq ft of offices arranged over lower ground, ground and eight upper floors. It is held long leasehold from the City of London and existing occupiers include Legal & General, Accenture and PensionBee. Approximately 11,000 sq ft of office space remains available.
Comments from Toby Courtauld, Chief Executive of Great Portland Estates
“We are delighted to partner with Knotel, further expanding the Group’s flexible space offering which now comprises around 9% of our office portfolio. The new arrangement will maximise our short-term cash flows ahead of our exciting plans for a substantial new-build development on the site.”
Comments from Tom Dugarin, UK General Manager at Knotel
“As Knotel expands rapidly, it is critical that we partner with owners such as Great Portland Estates. The team at GPE have a deep-seated understanding of the London property market and how a flexible offering can be valuable for established and scaling businesses. The GPE team has a significant footprint; this partnership will help ensure that we meet the growing demand for Knotel’s tailored, flexible workspaces. Knotel is the world’s leading flexible workspace provider and has 360,000 sq ft of flexible office provision under management in London, across 22 buildings and 67 spaces.”
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