Battle of the City skyscrapers heats up as shiny new 22 Bishopsgate lures law firm McDermott away from Heron Tower
City law firm McDemott Will & Emery is moving out of the Salesforce Tower, commonly known by its former name as the Heron Tower, to move to the 46th floor of the brand new 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper.
The Salesforce Tower, minutes from Liverpool Street, housed the Chicago-based law firm for more than a decade.
However, from next year, McDermotte Will & Emery will move into 22 Bishopsgate, the City’s highest skyscraper that was recently completed by AXA Investment Management, according to an EGI report.
The law firm has reportedly signed a 15-year lease and will take up the entire 46th flor.
McDermott joins fellow US law firms Cooley and Covington & Burling in 22 Bishopsgate, while other tenants include insurance giants Hiscox and Beazley.
The skyscraper, which was completed late last year, is London’s second-tallest building behind the Shard. It boasts 1.2m square feet of office space over 62 storeys. It will also house meeting spaces, restaurants, bars and fitness facilities including London’s first climbing window.
Fierce competition
The coup shows the increasingly heated battle for commercial property tenants.
In fact, more than three fifths of the UK’s commercial landlords are struggling to attract tenants to traditional offices as businesses’ workspace demands have changed rapidly during the pandemic, according to recent research that was exclusively shared with Morning Wire
More than six in ten commercial landlords are currently struggling to attract prospective tenants to fill their traditional office spaces.
Almost two thirds (64 per cent) reported having seen a “notable shift” in tenants’ demands during the pandemic, including terms and use of space, flexible workspace provider infinitSpace has found.
The firm’s research found that UK commercial landlords currently dedicate an average of 33 per cent of their office portfolio to some form of flexible or co-working spaces. By 2026, this is forecast to rise 11 per cent to 44 per cent.