Hines, the international real estate firm, has announced that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed to lease 113,000 sq ft at The Cabot, Hine’s 455,000 sq ft office building in Canary Wharf, London.
The independent non-ministerial government department has agreed to a 15-year lease and will relocate from its existing headquarters in Holborn to occupy floors, seven, eight and nine The Cabot, which is currently undergoing a comprehensive redevelopment.
The leasing to CMA represents over half of the 200,000 sq ft of new space bringing brought to the market, leaving 95,000 available to let. The building was acquired by Hines, on behalf of Hines GREIT, in 2014 via a sale and leaseback with Morgan Stanley, who made a long-term commitment to the lower part of the building and now occupy 250,000 sq ft over levels one to six.
The work undertaken includes a comprehensive redevelopment of the ground floor entrance, extending and remodelling the arrival and reception area, and adding an additional 10,000 sq ft of new retail units, which will include a restaurant, café and food and beverage outlet. In addition to significantly increasing the street-level retail amenities, Hines is re-landscaping the public realm across the site.
RIBA-award winning architects Carmody Groarke have led the re-design, which will reinvigorate the building to provide a contemporary workplace to meet changing occupier demands. The redevelopment is expected to be completed in early 2019.
Raj Rajput, Managing Director and head of asset management at Hines UK, said: “We’re pleased to have leased this quantum of space well before the completion of the redevelopment, and are equally encouraged by the interest we are seeing for the remaining space from a broad range of sectors.
“We recognise the considerable responsibility in transforming one of Canary Wharf’s most prominent buildings into large-scale, flexible, modern workspace. It reinforces our long-term commitment to Canary Wharf as a market and is emblematic of the continuing evolution of the area.
Hines UK has advised on more than four million square feet of projects acquired, completed or in the pipeline in the UK with a total UK portfolio under management valued at in excess of £2 billion. The company’s portfolio includes a range of assets under management in London and key regional cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
GVA acted for the Competition and Markets Authority, Hines were advised by Knight Frank, CBRE and Squarebrook.
