Apple has taken another three floors of office space at 22 Bishopsgate, the newest skyscraper in the City of London.
The world’s biggest technology company, worth $2.5 trillion, has been leasing two floors at the 62-storey tower since building work finished this time last year. It is understood that Apple has now agreed to take a further three floors — about 75,000 sq ft — according to people familiar with the deal. JLL and CBRE are the two agents tasked with leasing the building.
The initial two floors were leased to house the group’s Apple Pay team but it is not clear what it will do with the extra space. Apple and Axa, which runs the building on behalf of a consortium of international investors, declined to comment.
Apple’s move to expand its presence in London represents a much-needed boost for the capital, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. The tech giant is waiting to move into a new 500,000 sq ft campus at the newly redeveloped Battersea Power Station site, which is expected to open at some point next year.
It is understood that Apple’s decision to take more space at 22 Bishopsgate will have no impact on the plans for its new Battersea home.
Out of the 1.3 million sq ft of office space at 22 Bishopsgate, about 850,000 sq ft — some two-thirds — has now been let out. Hiscox, the insurer, was the first to sign a lease; it has since been joined by 15 other tenants, including Cooley, the American law firm, and the Korea Development Bank, which took half a floor last week.
Among the attractions of the 900ft tower are its own “signature scent”, London’s highest free public viewing gallery on level 58, a curated art walk on the ground floor and the world’s highest climbing wall.
The Times (Tom Howard) - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/df1357f2-419d-11ec-90b4-dd43226240e0