Swedish construction group Skanska has been contracted by UK developer Minerva to build a large office building in the City of London for £150 mln (EUR 187mln). The St Botolphs project involves a new 14-storey office and retail development that will provide approximately 52,000 m[sup]2[/sup] of high-quality accommodation. The project is planned for completion in 2010.

Swedish construction group Skanska has been contracted by UK developer Minerva to build a large office building in the City of London for £150 mln (EUR 187mln). The St Botolphs project involves a new 14-storey office and retail development that will provide approximately 52,000 m2 of high-quality accommodation. The project is planned for completion in 2010.

St Botolphs is the second project that Skanska is building for Minerva, following the award of The Walbrook - a £150 mln project, also in the City of London, in 2007. Skanska also completed the 90 High Holborn scheme for Minerva in 2003 as well as the redevelopment of the company's headquarters on Wigmore Street in 2002.

In January, Minerva announced that it had pre-let 84,000 sq ft (7,800m2) of office space at St Botolphs, with an option to take a further 40,000 sq ft, to global insurance broker Lockton International. The office will serve as Lockton's new European headquarters.

HSH Nordbank and Landesbank Berlin will provide development finance for the project.