The Minster Building comprises one of three buildings developed in the late 1980s, arranged around a central piazza and an integral part of London’s insurance market.
Tenure
Long Leasehold
Timeline
2015 – 2018
Area
298,000 sq ft
(27,700 sq m)
Partner
Ivanhoe Cambridge
Tenants
Charles Taylor, Make It Cheaper, Lyst, Third Space, BrewDog, Tower Research Capital, Spaces
OPPORTUNITY
Located in the heart of London’s EC3 insurance district, for 25 years The Minster Building (formerly known as 3 Minster Court) was home to the London Underwriting Centre. Established as a rival to Lloyds of London, it latterly operated as a serviced office centre for insurance-related occupiers. Arranged over basement, mezzanine, lower ground, ground and seven upper levels, the Property provides well-specified office floor plates of approx. 35,000 sq ft set around a large circular atrium.
However it had a number of physical shortcomings, including multiple undersized entrances and an outdated aesthetic. Although well maintained, at the expiry of the existing lease in mid-2016 the building required significant modernisation and repositioning away from its historic use as the LUC. This was further complicated by the existing ownership structure, a dysfunctional 50/50 long leasehold arrangement that provided limited scope for the owners to collaborate to improve the asset.
ACTIVITY
Greycoat carried out pre-purchase due diligence and led the commercial negotiations with the existing owners to successfully merge the two investment interests. Acting as Development and Asset Manager and working alongside a team led by Buckley Grey Yeoman architects, Greycoat secured planning consent for external alterations to improve the appearance and permeability of the building at street level, combined with a change of use to facilitate retail and leisure uses.
The Property was comprehensively refurbished, including the removal of a tower of escalators running the full height of the atrium (still the largest project of its kind in Europe), creating a new double-height entrance with a large occupier amenity space leading to a new main reception at the base of the atrium.
OUTCOME
Approx. 1/3 of the Property was let prior to Practical Completion to insurance company Charles Taylor and to Spaces, a serviced office operator. A further 100,000 sq ft of letting followed shortly after, including leases to high-end gym operator Third Space, and to Brewdog, which opened their first micro-brewery outside of Scotland. Following completion of the leasing campaign, the asset was sold to the Singaporean investor, Suntec REIT.
