A new office building has launched in Hammersmith, west London.
Named 245 Hammersmith Road, the asset comprises 73,761 m2 across 11 floors and has been developed by LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General) and Mitsubishi Estate London.
As part of the launch, Legal & General has leased the first and second floors of the building, totalling 8,534 m2, to Hana, which is a new subsidiary of CBRE Group, focusing upon the 'flexible' segment.
The developers claim the project has generated £28 mln for the local borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in the form of employment, and features green spaces which will be open to the public.
Yuichiro Shioda, Managing Director & CEO of Mitsubishi Estate London Limited, said: ‘We are delighted that we are able to welcome Hana to the building and are excited to announce more new occupiers in the near future with a number of the other floors already under offer.
‘It is always gratifying to deliver a finished new building and, in 245 Hammersmith Road, we have created something that makes a positive contribution to both the local occupier market and the local community.’
Andrew Kupiec, CEO of Hana, said: 'Hana is thrilled to bring our unique flexible space solution to 245 Hammersmith in partnership with Legal & General and Mitsubishi Estate. 245 Hammersmith is a perfect fit for Hana’s welcoming and sophisticated flexible workspace befitting high-growth and enterprise companies.’
Flexible workspace is forecast to account for at least 5.5% of total office stock in central London by the end of 2019 – three years ahead of previous forecasts, according to a new Cushman & Wakefield's (C&W) report.
By the end of H1 2019, there was 424,868 m2 of flexible workspace in operation, accounting for 4.8% of total office stock. Despite political headwinds, flexible workspace operators let more than 393,701 m2 of space across 40 transactions in Central London during H1 this year.
If letting activity progresses at the same rate for the remainder of 2019, C&W predicts flexible workspace take-up to exceed 656,168 m2 for a third successive year.
