Hammersmith's The Ark, one of London's most distinctive offices, has secured a string of lettings after deciding to split its large floorplates and provide fitted spaces for smaller occupiers.
The landlord, a Middle Eastern private client of Citi Private Bank, has secured transactions totalling more than 28,000 square feet after reworking the space and is now committing to pursuing the strategy on its top floors.
Frost Meadowcroft co-founder and director Simon Kibble, joint leasing agent with Cushman & Wakefield and Savills, said the building had become the most successful in Hammersmith in 2025 in terms of number of lettings. The tenants include Qantas Airways, Healf, Biotiful Dairy, Starlight Children's Charity and Korean beauty brand Riman.
The transactions break back to: the airline taking 6,960 square feet of fitted space on the third floor; Healf taking 4,273 square feet of fitted space on the third floor; Starlight Children's Foundation taking 1,551 square feet of fitted space on the third floor; Riman KBeauty taking 6,529 square feet on the fourth floor and Biotiful taking 2,412 square feet on the third floor.
The Ralph Erskine-designed office building close to Hammersmith Station was completed in April 1992, by Swedish developer Ake Larsson, with a structure reminiscent of the Biblical Noah's Ark. However, the 10-storey development’s internal architecture including an eye-catching atrium initially made it difficult to let on a multilet basis.
GE Capital bought the 151,000-square-foot Ark in a joint venture with O&H Properties from Deka UK for £49.5 million in March 2006, and undertook a major £20 million refurbishment to make it appeal to a single occupier.
In 2010, GE signed a lease to occupy the majority of the building consolidating its employees based in its Berkeley Square, Berkeley Street and Agar Street offices and carried out an Aukett Fitzroy Robinson fit-out to tailor the space for its needs.
GE Capital Real Estate then completed the sale of The Ark to a client of Citi Private Bank in 2013. It decanted from the space around three years ago.
Explaining the run of recent lettings Frost Meadowcroft's Kibble said: "It’s been great that in this climate we have created the most successful building in Hammersmith just in terms of number of lettings. The space clearly hits a sweet spot in the occupier market – we have had the flexibility of sizes and a refurbishment that has offered a tremendous level of amenity combined with fully fitted spaces. Rents have been around £50 per square foot for fitted space and just over double that for managed space."
The building has two suites under offer on the fourth floor after fully leasing the third floor in 2025. Other tenants in the Ark are Thermo Fisher Scientific, which occupies the second floor, and Discover Financial Services, which occupies the part first-floor.
The decision to split the space came as the wider Hammersmith market experienced limited demand from larger occupiers for a typical floor of over 20,000 square feet.
Kibble said: "I think this is a classic example of if you can offer all the features and flexibility that occupiers want at a low cost of entry for them with limited capex you can appeal to a much wider audience and secure deals."
The landlord has now started fit out on the “Top Deck” – the seventh and eighth floors. Peldon Rose has begun fit-out works to deliver additional premium fitted suites on the upper floors including meeting spaces and an auditorium area for all occupiers in the building. These new spaces are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2026 and add to the flexible offer.
The building also includes a gym, café, breakout spaces.
Cushman & Wakefield and Savills are joint agents with Frost Meadowcroft. Workthere operates the flexible offices space.