Canary Wharf signs up EY at Churchill Place

Canary Wharf Group has signed a leasing transaction with financial services firm EY for 207,000 sq ft (19,230 m2) of office space at 25 Churchill Place.

The lease has been agreed for a 25-year period at a rent of £48.50 (€57.7) per sq ft. EY will occupy levels 14 to 21 in the 21-storey building.

As part of this transaction, on 1 July 2015 Canary Wharf Group will assume responsibility for EY’s lease at Becket House, 1 Lambeth Palace Road, of 146,000 sq ft of office space. The lease runs until September 2026 at a rent of £35 per sq ft.

Canary Wharf Group claims 25 Churchill Place will be one of the most modern and energy-efficient office buildings on the Canary Wharf Estate to date. Environmental features will include elevators that store and reuse energy elsewhere in the building, the latest air-conditioning equipment that recycles the energy from exhaust air and photo voltaic cells to generate energy from the sun's rays. The building will also have a 'green' roof, which enhances biodiversity and energy efficiency.

25 Churchill Place will achieve an 'excellent' BREEAM environmental performance rating and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of 40 or better.

Sir George Iacobescu, chairman and CEO of Canary Wharf Group, said: 'We have a long professional association with EY and are very pleased that they have chosen to lease space at 25 Churchill Place. This transaction builds on the strong representation of professional services firms already at Canary Wharf and, with EY sharing the building with the EMA, demonstrates just how attractive Canary Wharf is for firms from all sectors.'

EY was advised by its own internal real estate team, Cushman and Wakefield and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Canary Wharf Group by CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, GM Real Estate and Clifford Chance.

James Meikle, head of City Occupier Representation at Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'We were able to structure a transaction for EY that disposed of a long leasehold interest in a Grade B office building in return for leasing a brand new state-of-the-art office building in Canary Wharf.'