The Shard

The Shard, the building feted as London’s tallest skyscraper, which opened in 2012 and which became a tourist attraction in its own right, appears to be slowly but surely filling up its rental space. 

While some ambitious construction was put on hold during the recent financial crisis, The Shard was completed but tenants were cautious and not quick to sign up. 

However, it has been reported that 30% of space is now taken, by tenants including law firm Mathys & Squire LLP, US company Duff & Phelps Corp, and Al Jazeera, the news channel. The companies will join the other occupants of the building, which include restaurants, some luxury apartments and a spa. 

The Shard has been drawing other tenants to the area – if not into its own space – and the adjacent building has also attracted the news broadcaster News Corp, which has entered into a 30-year lease in the building, where only two floors of eight are said to remain available. It has also been reported by the World Property Channel that The Times, publisher Harper Collins, and the Wall Street Journal will also take up residency next door to the skyscraper. 

This improvement in occupation of space in The Shard is another indication of the increasingly positive situation in the property market in London, despite the building facing competition from other newly constructed landmark skyscrapers in the city. While space is now at a premium, offices are being snapped up across the board, in different areas of the city, and different kinds of space. 

The owners of the Shard, the Qatari wealth fund, will be no doubt be pleased that the 72-storey building is looking attractive to significant tenants and that companies are taking the leap into new, landmark space. The TMT sector and newly emerging Fin-Tech sector are playing, and will continue to play, an important part in the patterns of office occupation over the coming years, and will inevitably drive demand and influence trends. 

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.