Native Land has agreed a deal to lease 13,600 sq ft at its recently completed 223,000 sq ft Arbor office building on London’s South Bank to Smiths Group.
The FTSE 100-listed company will relocate its head office from St James’s Square to the all-electric building alongside previously announced occupiers The Carbon Trust and Lewis Silkin.
Native Land said it was in “active negotiations” with potential occupiers on a further 78,000 sq ft at the PLP Architecture-designed building.
The developer is a co-investing joint venture partner in the 1.4m sq ft Bankside Yards development alongside Temasek, Amcorp Properties Berhad and Hotel Properties of Singapore.
Jay Squier, director – commercial and mixed use at Native Land, said: “Native Land is delighted to welcome Smiths Group to Arbor and to Bankside Yards. We’re hugely proud of the work we have done to deliver a building and a mixed-use development that makes it a natural choice for a FTSE 100 company to relocate to Bankside from St James’s. Arbor is a leading example of a workspace which exceeds the demands of today’s occupiers for high quality, energy-efficient and human-centric space.”
Alasdair Nicholls, chief executive of Native Land, added: “Arbor exemplifies Native Land’s approach to the creation of modern buildings, combining high levels of sustainability and leading-edge technology, with our long-held emphasis on considered design, exceptional quality, and high levels of amenity. It’s an approach we will continue to bring to all our future workspace, residential and mixed-use projects.”
Vera Kirikova, chief people officer at Smiths Group, said: “At Smiths Group, a key priority is to promote collaboration, teamwork and an inclusive and high performing culture for our people. As we look to a bright future of sustained growth and opportunity, this location move is a step towards achieving this goal.”
Midori Ainoura, partner at PLP Architecture, added: “Arbor is more than just an office building. It’s a hub for interaction, creativity, and inspiration in the heart of the city. Offices are no longer just about providing a place to work, but rather fostering meaningful and productive interactions between people. This makes Arbor’s location in the Bankside Yards masterplan all the more significant, as it plays a vital role in shaping a hypermixed neighbourhood that blends work and city life, culture and technology, nature and art.”
Knight Frank and Ingleby Trice are letting agents for Arbor.
