Handelsbanken has agreed a deal with Stanhope and the Woolgate Exchange Unit Trust (WEUT) to take 53,000 sq ft of space on a 15-year lease at the Woolgate office scheme in the City of London.
The local relationship bank has taken a 8,500 sq ft unit on the ground floor and 44,600 sq ft on the third floor of the 320,000 sq ft building.
Handelsbanken is relocating its London headquarters from its current home in Thomas More Square to Woolgate. In September last year, Stanhope and Woolgate Exchange Unit Trust (WEUT) let 190,000 sq ft to Legal & General at the building for the company’s new HQ, leaving only the ground floor available to lease.
The extensive refurbishment of the building, which will see 98% of the existing structure retained, is on track to complete early this year.
David Camp, chief executive of Stanhope, said: “We are thrilled to have secured another occupier whose requirements align perfectly with the high-quality office space and strong sustainability credentials that Woolgate offers. We look forward to welcoming Handelsbanken to the building once we reach practical completion later this year.”
Mikael Sorensen, CEO of Handelsbanken UK, added: “Handelsbanken has been operating in the UK for over 40 years, and during that time has seen strong and growing demand for local relationship banking, where customers receive high levels of personal service from experts who know them and their financial circumstances very well. Moving to the first-class Woolgate development demonstrates our long-term commitment both to our customers and to the UK as one of Handelsbanken’s core markets.
“Consolidating our office space in Woolgate will allow us to continue our UK growth story in a cost-effective way, for many years to come – from a modern, fit for purpose and environmentally sustainable home – aligning perfectly with our core values.”
Savills, JLL and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner acted for WEUT and Stanhope and Kinney Green represented Handelsbanken.
