Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has picked British Land and Singaporean wealth fund GIC's proposed 1 Appold Street development for a circa 240,000-square-foot office move at the Broadgate Campus in the City of London, CoStar News can reveal.
The law firm had narrowed its search to two buildings: the £220 million new development at 1 Appold Street, and Mitsui Fudosan and Dutch developer Edge's Edge Liverpool Street in Shoreditch. The company's London office is at Exchange House, Primrose Street, also owned by British Land and GIC, where it occupies 270,000 square feet.
The transaction would be the second largest office letting to complete in London this year after JP Morgan Asset Management secured US investment management firm Squarepoint for a prelet of the entire 400,000-square-foot 65 Gresham Street development, as revealed by CoStar News.
Designed by Piercy & Company, 1 Appold Street is one of the last major redevelopments planned on the Broadgate Campus and proposes retaining 75% of the existing 1980s office building, while adding five floors to make 13 storeys. It proposes 350,000 square feet of workspace and over 50,000 square feet of amenity with typical floors at 29,500 square feet.
It is proposed to be delivered in 2028, with BL having previously said it would seek a prelet before committing to development.
Law firms have been particularly busy in the London office market in recent times, with US legal giants in particular turning to expansionary moves in newer offices to attract talent.
Knight Frank's legal sector update, in the third quarter of last year, reported a surge in activity, with take-up rising by 651% quarter-on-quarter to reach 358,299 square feet. In the quarter, the legal sector accounted for 12% of total London take-up and 21% of City take-up. Knight Frank had named demand for the sector reaching 1.29 million square feet. KF said the legal sector "remains a key player in London's real estate market, continuing to make a substantial contribution to overall take-up".
Patrick Scanlon, senior director of market analytics, CoStar UK, said: "Last year, demand for 100,000-square-foot units fell to the lowest recorded this century as businesses took steps to reduce their post-pandemic office footprint. However, demand has returned in 2025. There have already been five deals larger than 100,000 square feet this year, with expansion and consolidation a key theme; we expect to see more of the same in the remaining few months of the year."
JLL is advising British Land. Cushman & Wakefield is advising Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
The parties involved did not comment.