Shard has tenants for 30% of offices as London rentals rise

City hall (left) and the More London development (right) stand on the south bank of the River Thames as the Shard tower is seen beyond in London. The Shard skyscraper, 95% owned by Qatar, has secured tenants for 30% of its office space after attracting financial services and media companies, the property’s manager said.

Bloomberg/London

The Shard skyscraper has secured tenants for 30% of its office space after attracting financial services and media companies, the property’s manager said.

Duff & Phelps Corp, a New York-based investment bank, media group Al Jazeera and law firm Mathys & Squire are among the companies that have agreed to lease 170,000 square feet (15,800 square metres) of office space in the tower, Real Estate Management UK said in an e-mailed statement on Thusday.

Developer Sellar Property Group bought out Transport for London’s contract to rent about a third of the skyscraper in 2010, aiming for higher rents. A decline in demand for prime office space in London hampered occupancy in the tower until last year, when lettings in central London increased by 41% to 13.1mn square feet, according to broker Knight Frank.

Venture capital company Foresight Financial Group, South Hook Natural Gas and hospital operator HCA have also agreed to become tenants in the Shard, according to the statement. Qatar owns about 95% of the tower.

News Corp’s News UK unit signed a 30-year lease for 430,000 square feet of space in the Place neighbouring the Shard and developed by the same group on January 6, according to the statement. A Shangri-La Hotel will open on stories 34 to 52 of the Shard. The Oblix, Aqua Shard and Hutong restaurants are on levels 31 to 33. The London Bridge Quarter, comprising the two buildings has agreements to rent out almost 600,000 square feet of office space so far.

Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank are the rental agents for the tower.