Courtesy of Stanhope
8 Bishopsgate
London’s City office market has come close to breaking through the £150-per-SF level after law firm Proskauer Rose shattered records when it agreed to take additional space in the 51-storey office tower at 8 Bishopsgate, EC2.
The rental agreement with owners Stanhope and Mitsubishi Estate London is approaching double the £86 per SF the legal practice paid when it first occupied 60K SF in the building in 2023, not long after the building’s launch. It has now taken an extra floor of the building.
The figure brokered is well above the average City prime rent, which reached a new record in the second quarter, according to adviser Savills, rising to £104 per SF, the highest quarterly average on record and up 4% on Q2 2024.
The Proskauer Rose deal breaks the City’s recent record, achieved during Q2 when Banco Master let the 44th floor in 22 Bishopsgate for £122.50 per SF, surpassing the previous top rent of £122 per SF achieved on the 56th floor of the same tower.
In its most recent figures, for 2024, New York-headquartered Proskauer Rose achieved revenues up 13% to a new high of $1.4B, while average profits per equity partner surged 23.7% to $4.5M.
Thanks to several recent deals, 8 Bishopsgate has been heading toward full occupancy this year, with Shinhan Bank, a South Korean bank headquartered in Seoul, taking a 10-year lease for the 44th floor, comprising circa 8,600 SF. That brought the building to 95% occupancy, with three floors available.
Stanhope and MEL also signed The Access Group, a business management software business, for space earlier this year.
At the end of the first half, commercial leasing in the City reached 3.1M SF, up 12% on the long-term average, with five transactions over 100K SF signed, Savills said. The largest transaction to complete during Q2 was Squarepoint’s prelet of J.P. Morgan Asset Management‘s 65 Gresham Street refurbishment, which is due for handover in 2028.
In addition, State Street, VakifBank and the London School of Economics purchased buildings for their own occupation, and even more recently, Ferrero Rocher bought its own office, acquiring St Paul’s House at 8–12 Warwick Lane, EC4.
Savills is forecasting 5.5% average prime rental growth for 2025 for the City and 4% for the West End, with the imbalance between demand for prime office space and supply expected to sustain a rental differential.
“The rent achieved at 8 Bishopsgate is a clear statement, the City’s best-in-class offices are setting new standards,” Savills Director of Central London Agency Catherine Facer said.
“With Proskauer Rose signing close to £150 per SF, it’s clear that businesses are still prepared to pay a premium for standout space in prime locations, especially when it supports talent attraction and retention.
“Looking ahead to the second half of the year, this deal reinforces that prime rents in the City aren’t softening,” Facer added. “If anything, they’re firming up for top-quality space, particularly in towers with panoramic views and buildings that tick every box — from ESG to amenities to views. We’re likely to see the gap between best-in-class and secondary stock widen further, with legal and financial firms continuing to drive demand and lead the charge.”