London SE1 community website

FT in unwanted Bankside office crisis

London SE1 website team

Financial Times owner Pearson may be forced to sublet the prestigious Bankside riverfront building once earmarked for its internet operation at a vastly reduced rent.

The lease for Riverside House, the distinctive building with the bulging frontage just to the west of Southwark Bridge, was secured by Pearson in 2000, before completion of the development, at an estimated £37 per square foot to provide growing room for FT.com as well as other FT businesses.

The 160,000 square foot office block is opposite the familiar FT headquarters building at 1 Southwark Bridge is now surplus to requirements following the scaling back of FT.com and other online ventures.

Agents Cushman Wakefield, Healey & Baker last week launched it on the open market.

An FT spokeswoman admitted that the company has shed 300 in the past year: 'We are not going to occupy it because the business structure has changed. We've integrated FT.com into the Financial Times and everyone can now fit into our main building on Southwark Bridge.'

At £37 per square foot, the annual rent for Riverside House is just short of £6m. Newspaper reports suggest that Pearson may have to accept much less than that to find an occupier.

The SE1 website is supported by people like you
We are part of
Independent Community News Network
Email newsletter

For the latest local news and events direct to your inbox every Monday, you need our weekly email newsletter SE1 Direct.

Archive
News archive from February 1999 to January 2001
Got a story for us?
Contact us with your tip-offs and story ideas.