Nabarro heads east with City HQ move confirmed
Nabarro has confirmed its move into new offices at 125 London Wall for November 2014.
Simon Johnston
The firm has been in negotiations as the clock ticked down on its current lease at Theobald’s Road in Holborn.
The move to a new City headquarters is Simon Johnston’s last major project as senior partner as he stands down this month, three years earlier than planned (13 September 2012).
Nabarro has signed the agreement of lease, which the firm said will secure its property needs until 2025. As part of the deal landlord JPMorgan is carrying out an extensive refurbishment of the building designed by globally renowned British architect Sir Terry Farrell.
The firm said it will also be commissioning comprehensive interior design work on the 130,000 square feet it is taking on - around a third of the space in the building - to create a high specification, modern working environment.
The firm is believed to be paying in the region of £46 per square foot for the property.
Johnston said: “This is an outstanding property and an outstanding deal for Nabarro.
“We’re delighted to have secured the future property needs of the firm and to have found a City HQ which reflects our client base and increasingly international ambitions.
“I’m also delighted that, working closely with JPMorgan, we’ll create a working environment that will be a tremendous place for our staff to work in and our clients to visit.”
Nabarro was advised on the deal by a Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team led by real estate partner Christopher Morris. JPMorgan was advised by a Linklaters team led by real estate partner Andy Bruce.
At the start of the year, CMS Cameron McKenna made a U-turn on similar plans to move into new EC2 headquarters at Principal Place.
CMS had been in talks with property developer Hammerson to move from its existing base in Mitre House, Aldersgate Street, as its lease expires in 2015 (16 January 2012).
Senior partner Dick Tyler cited unstable market conditions at the time.
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Readers' comments (15)
Anonymous | 7-Jan-2013 6:12 pm
If this debate were informed by knowledge of:-
i) the length of the rent free period Nabarros negotiated;
ii) the fit out contribution Nabarros is to receive;and
iii) the number of tenant's breaks operable before 2025
then one could make an informed judgment about the commercial terms.
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Anonymous | 9-Jan-2013 2:24 pm
Ha,ha,ha, this thread is becoming more like mumsnet every day.
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Anonymous | 9-Jan-2013 2:55 pm
A headline rent of £46 psf is not a bad rent in the current market.
Due to market conditions there has been very little development recently (except for the tower developments, and they will be significantly more expensive than £46) and that lack of development has had an impact on the supply and demand dynamic i.e. there is very limited supply.
There are no suitable buildings with rents below £40 in todays market.
I still think Nabarro is a firm in desperate trouble trying to find it's place in the world, and I'm not sure if it has one, but on pure economics this is not a bad deal.
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Anonymous | 10-Jan-2013 5:24 pm
The move to Theobalds Road was done on very favourable terms and the building was a huge improvement on the frankly awful conditions in Stratton Street. I was there for both and the location in Theobalds was never a real issue - people just got on with it and there was a real noticeable lift in confidence after we had moved in.
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Anonymous | 13-Jan-2013 9:27 pm
The "lift in confidence" the last poster speaks of didn't last long. All soon realised the shiny new building was located in a barren wilderness. The firm never grasped the opportunities that the boom times of 2002-2007 presented. Barely any growth, zero direction, poor leadership. 10+ years on, new management, where is the firm going? Well we know the location, but as to direction, maybe the Nabarro stalwarts can tell us. Even if the rent is acceptable (a question better answered by others) what is new management's game plan to arrest the slide and move into positive territory.
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