One of the developers behind the 37-storey tower that is being constructed at 20 Fenchurch Street in London, other popularly known as the "Walkie-Talkie", is currently in talks with potential tenants.
The commercial property, which is being constructed by Land Securities Group Plc (LAND) and the Canary Wharf Group Plc, is expected to be fully completed in three years by 2014 and will be let for no less than £50 per square foot of office space, according to John Garwood, the company secretary for the Canary Wharf Group Plc.
"We are marketing and there are discussions with various possible tenants," Garwood revealed in an interview on Monday. "This is a speculative build, so we're building that for completion in 2014. It goes back to this belief that there will be a tightening in market supply." Garwood would not identify the potential tenants that the developers were in talks with, noting that the negotiations were private and confidential.
The Canary Wharf Group Plc owns almost 50 per cent of all the buildings in the Canary Wharf area, which is the second biggest financial district in London after the City itself. The company's only development in the city is the "Walkie-Talkie" building, says the firm's spokesman, Hamish McDougall.
Many developers throughout the United Kingdom, including Land Securities, put development projects on hold three years ago back in 2008 and have only recently begun to once more press forward with them.
SOURCE: bloomberg.com
