City of London’s Tallest Tower Fully Leased With RiverStone International Deal

The tallest skyscraper in the City of London financial district has reached full occupancy just over four years after it was completed.

RiverStone International, a holding company that acquires insurance businesses, has leased the final remaining floor at 22 Bishopsgate, according to a statement from the building’s developer AXA SA. The company has signed a 15-year lease for the 25,000 square-foot (2,322.6 square meters) fifth floor, taking the 1.2 million square-foot tower to full occupancy, AXA IM Alts said in the statement on Monday.

Demand for the best new buildings with plentiful amenities and top green credentials has remained robust even as increased home working has seen demand for older buildings crater. AXA developed the vast 62-story tower against the backdrop of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, completing it in December 2020 when most workers were still forced to do their jobs from home.

AXA built the skyscraper on behalf of a joint venture between Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Quadreal Property Group, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte and its own insurance business. The massive scale of the project enabled the developer to incorporate more tenant amenities spread over four floors of the building.

“Post pandemic we have seen a huge acceleration in the evolution of occupier requirements further contributing to the building’s success, with many of the future proofing ‘nice-to-have’ features we incorporated now viewed simply as must-haves,” AXA IM Alts global co-head of real estate John O’Driscoll said.

Fears about future demand for office space, soaring construction costs and the spike in interest rates have all deterred developers from starting new projects, creating a supply squeeze as tenants compete for the limited new high quality offices than can help lure staff back to the office.

That’s encouraged AXA to push ahead with another major new development at 50 Fenchurch Street that is due to complete in 2028, it added.

Photograph: The 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper in London. Photo credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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