Sullivan and Cromwell, the New York-headquartered law firm, has shortlisted two options for its up-to-160,000-square-foot London office requirement, CoStar News understands.
CoStar News revealed the group had launched the requirement in central London in June. The move would more than double its footprint and underlines strong appetite from American law firms for offices in the capital.
The firm occupies around 75,000 square feet at 1-9 New Fetter Lane in the City and has appointed Newmark to advise on options to expand.
Market sources said it is now focused on 40 Holborn Viaduct and 75 London Wall if it decides to move.
In December last year, Dutch bank ING underwrote an £170 million green loan to Nuveen for a major speculative "green" redevelopment of 40 Holborn Viaduct in London's Midtown. The redevelopment, led by Nuveen Real Estate, will convert the 170,000-square-foot property from a "traditional brown building into a cutting-edge green workspace designed to meet the highest environmental standards".
The building's main tenant Capgemini prelet an 89,000-square-foot headquarters at Brazilian family J Safra's Selso development at 95 Queen Victoria Street in 2024 and is relocating. The office forms part of the Cityhold Office Partnership Fund which Nuveen Real Estate recapitalised in 2020 via a €625 million (£529 million) investment from the-then CBRE Global Investors, reflecting a 25% stake in CHOP.
Malaysian engineering, infrastructure and property group Gamuda and London-based real estate investor Castleforge signed a main construction contract valued at over £250 million with Multiplex in January for the redevelopment of 75 London Wall in the City of London.
The £1.2 billion project proposes 450,000 net square feet of offices with sustainability certifications including BREEAM 'Outstanding', WELL Core 'Platinum', and NABERS UK 5 Star Design for Performance. Castleforge and Gamuda signed a £500 million funding agreement with Cheyne Capital for the redevelopment at the beginning of last year. It was understood to be the largest loan for a single office project in London. The building is Deutsche Bank's former offices, also known as Winchester House.
Established in 1972, New Fetter Lane is Sullivan and Cromwell's second largest global office and serves major corporate, financial institution, investment banking, private equity, government, sovereign wealth, individual and family clients throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Gulf regions and Central Asia, as well as clients from outside these regions with interests there.
Law firms have been a particularly significant driver of take-up of prime office space in London over the last few years. They leased 828,450 square feet of London offices in 2025, according to Knight Frank, an increase of 13.3% on 2024.