UBS signs £340m headquarters deal

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 30-01-2012

Swiss bank UBS has agreed a pre-letting deal which means that its £340 million London headquarters will go ahead as planned, with a timetable for it to be completed by the end of 2014.

There had been reports that UBS would cut back on the project in London’s financial district after the £1.46 billion trading loss linked to alleged rogue trader Kweku Adoboli.

However, British Land and Blackstone Group, co-owners of the 700,000 sq ft building, have confirmed that the pre-letting agreement has now been signed.

A deal for the new bespoke block was agreed in August 2010 by the bank, which is the biggest tenant in the 30-acre Broadgate development.

The agreement includes four trading floors which can be transformed into normal office interiors.

Subject to annual increases, UBS will pay an initial rent of £54.50 per sq ft over a period of 18 years. It will also be given a rent-free period of 18 months as part of the agreement.

Copyright Press Association 2012