RE Capital lets entirety of 18,644 sq ft central London office building to iconic automotive brand.
5 October 2023 – RE Capital, the property company specialising in repurposed real estate in Europe’s cosmopolitan cities, has agreed a lease with an automotive company that is quickly becoming an electric vehicle leader, for the office space at The Ragged School within our Clerkenwell Lifestyle project.
Moving from its existing office headquarters, a world-renowned automotive brand has signed a lease to occupy the entirety of the office space at the best-in-class development in London’s trendy Clerkenwell district. Their new central London headquarters consists of 18,644 sq ft spread over eight floors and features cutting-edge interior design, featuring a lower ground courtyard area, large light and spacious reception, integrated office open plan office space combining with generous staff meeting and breakout areas, and a garden roof terrace. With sustainability at its core, the stunning refurbishment has incorporated a variety of the latest, state-of-the-art design steps to ensure it has excellent ESG credentials. The Ragged School building retains much of it’s original construction, is BREEAM Excellent, and has an EPC B rating.
RE Capital acquired the site on Vine Hill Street in 2017 and is developing it as a mixed-use boutique hotel and office-led scheme through the construction of a new 153-bedroom affordable luxury hotel, which has been pre-let to Ruby Hotels, as well as nine residential units. The office scheme is the result of the repurposing and two-storey extension of a former school built in the Victorian era. The total development will be 74,000 sq ft.
Expected to complete by the end of this year, Clerkenwell Lifestyle is one of a number of design-led schemes that feature the characterful repurposing of spaces that RE Capital currently has underway in London. Its 30,484 sq ft Goat Yard scheme in Southwark recently completed, with its first tenant – a pre-let for 10,675 sq ft by technology company WithSecure – having now moved in. Progress continues on its Camden Lifestyle project, another mixed-use hotel-office scheme connected to Camden Town’s iconic Koko nightclub, while Greycoat Stores – which RE Capital is developing on behalf of LaSalle Investment Management – is due for completion by in Q1 2024.
Comptons advised RE Capital on this letting.
Luke Dhanoa, Senior Asset Manager at RE Capital, said: “This signing is a prime example of how businesses still want to occupy quality buildings with personality, heritage and genuine sustainability. We often hear that offices are crisis, but it’s our conviction that great real estate attracts great tenants. And the central London office market remains deeply attractive for us because we know that when we lean into the history and character of our buildings, tenants respond to it.”
Newman Leech, CEO of RE Capital, said: “Central London remains one of the world’s most attractive places to be and to be seen to be for a huge range of firms, as amply demonstrated in the decision by such an iconic brand to take space in the heart of the city. For that very reason, central London offices will remain a core part of our UK strategy – alongside build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation – as we continue to seek new opportunities to make our mark and create places that people want to work.”
