Swiss pension fund AFIAA commits to building £200m City office block

A new office block will be built at 40 Gresham Street in London

Joanna Hodgson5 March 2019

A Swiss pension fund on Tuesday displayed confidence in London by committing to starting construction this month on a £200 million Square Mile office block.

Investor AFIAA, working with property developer Stanhope, will convert Schroders former headquarters at 40 Gresham Street into a 170,000 square feet building, with 254 bike spaces, and shops and a café on the ground floor.

The building, which offers views of St Paul’s Cathedral, will be completed by autumn 2020. It will be called Gresham St Paul’s.

Bardo Magel, AFIAA’S head of asset management international, said: “We believe London is one of the world’s most important and dynamic centres for financial services and the new media and tech industry.”

The commitment to start work comes despite concerns in the market that business demand for new offices could slow down once Britain leaves the EU.