THE SHARD OFFICES FULLY LET
Warwick Business School increases its footprint by over 50% agreeing to lease the final available space in The Shard’s 26-floor office complex.
The highly respected academic institution, which has one of the most prestigious executive MBA programmes in Europe, has increased the footprint of its flagship London campus in The Shard by a further 52% to a total of 18,500 sq ft.
The ‘campus in the sky‘ opened in September 2014 after transforming 12,150 sq ft of office space on Level 17 into a state-of-the-art lecture theatre, seminar rooms and an information technology laboratory. The institute is now taking a further 6,342 sq ft on Level 13 to house a second lecture theatre.
“WE PICKED THE SHARD AS OUR FIRST LONDON BASE BECAUSE IT’S A BEACON FOR BUSINESS AND MATCHED OUR ASPIRATIONS FOR OUR HIGHLY RANKED EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMME, AND OUR EXECUTIVE EDUCATION MORE BROADLY. WE ARE DELIGHTED WE COULD EXPAND WITHIN THE BUILDING TO ACCOMMODATE EVEN MORE STUDENTS.”
Andy Lockett
Dean, Warwick Business School
The Shard’s 26-floor office complex is now fully let, home to 31 businesses across a wide range of sectors including energy, retail, manufacturing, technology, finance, education, healthcare and professional services.
“WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A CLEAR VISION FOR THE SHARD - TO CREATE A VERTICAL CITY WITH A DIVERSE RANGE OF USE CLASSES AND A VARIED COMMUNITY OF OCCUPIERS.”
Michael Baker
CEO Real Estate Management (UK) Limited
Earlier this month Foresight, whose Group Chairman Bernard Fairman originally coined the phrase ‘The Shard Effect’ to explain the positive impact the building has had on its occupiers’ businesses, announced it was expanding for the third time. Foresight agreed to increase its total footprint in The Shard to 27,853 sq ft. A number of other occupiers have undergone similar expansions, including Duff & Phelps and MATCHESFASHION.COM.
The final office letting to WBS marks the realisation of the late Irvine Sellar’s vision to create a truly vertical city. Overall a total of eight different use classes operate over its 72 floors, providing additional amenities for the office occupiers, encouraging visitors to the building and its surrounding neighbourhood.
“TOGETHER WITH THE STATE OF QATAR WE HAVE ACHIEVED WHAT WE SET OUT TO DELIVER: A VIBRANT AND DYNAMIC BUILDING THAT HAS BEEN BOTH A CATALYST AND A MAGNET FOR FURTHER INVESTMENT IN THIS PART OF SOUTHWARK. THE SHARD HAS BECOME A GLOBAL LANDMARK THAT, AGAINST ALL ODDS, IS RECOGNISED AS A BLUEPRINT FOR THE CREATION OF A EUROPEAN VERTICAL CITY.”
James Sellar
CEO, Sellar
Originally conceptualised 17 years ago, The Shard has been instrumental in the transformation of the London Bridge area by attracting investment and facilitating the creation of new jobs. The redevelopment of the adjacent London Bridge Station, the UK’s fourth busiest station, by Network Rail has also been critical. The significant investment made to improve transport infrastructure and increase capacity has played an important role in establishing London Bridge as one of London’s most sought-after business locations.
“THE SHARD HAS TRANSFORMED LONDON BRIDGE, BROUGHT NEW JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES, AND SYMBOLISES THE AMBITION OF SOUTHWARK WHERE THE SKY REALLY IS THE LIMIT.”
Councillor Peter John
Leader of Southwark Council
“THE BUSINESSES BASED IN THE SHARD HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE VERTICAL CITY BEYOND SIMPLY HAVING AN INSPIRING, HIGH QUALITY SPACE FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES. THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OCCUPIERS EXPANDING THROUGHOUT THE LEASING PROGRAMME, WHICH IS INDICATIVE OF THE ROLE A BUILDING CAN PLAY IN FACILITATING A VIBRANT BUSINESS COMMUNITY.”
Dan Gaunt
Head of City Leasing, Knight Frank
Knight Frank and JLL are the leasing agents on The Shard. Cushman & Wakefield acted for Warwick Business School.
