Lazari, the privately-owned property investment and development company, has secured a letting for the entire office space at The Lazari Building, 7 Brook Street, the former iconic Fenwick department store, which Lazari is redeveloping into a landmark headquarter office building with flagship retail spaces along New Bond Street.
An agreement to lease the building on completion of construction works was signed in New York on Friday 13 June.
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery has agreed to a 15-year lease on all the 115,000 sq ft of office space across the second to ninth floors and will relocate from its current home at 22 Bishopsgate to its new UK headquarters at The Lazari Building in 2028.
Since securing planning permission from Westminster City Council just over a year ago, Lazari has moved quickly to execute its strategy to repurpose and extend the existing buildings on the site to create a scheme of outstanding design with high sustainability credentials.
Designed by globally renowned architects Foster & Partners, the project represents the future of workplace, bringing together world-class location and identity, flexibility and creativity – all with the wellness and wellbeing of its occupants at heart.
The best-in-class offices will have an elegant, double-height Brook Street entrance, leading to a spacious timber-lined reception space which in turn connects to a sculpted light-filled and landscaped atrium running up the building, drawing natural light and air throughout the project whilst creating the opportunity for formal and informal working and collaborating spaces. External terraces have been added alongside a roof-top garden entertainment space, a rarity for its Mayfair location. A mezzanine bar, a wellness centre, changing rooms and cycle parking all contribute to a range of state-of-the-art amenities to be enjoyed by the building users and their clients alike.
The existing buildings are being painstakingly restored with new set-back floors clad in exquisitely detailed Portland stone and slate, whilst internally the retained floors are being realigned using innovative construction techniques to create continuous and generous floorplates, step-free for the first time in the building’s history.
Complementing the office space, spectacular two-storey retail space has been incorporated into the design at 53-63 Bond Street. Total retail space of 35,800 sq ft can be divided into four units of up to 13,000 sq ft and with floor heights of up to 5.6 metres. Lazari expects high demand from the discerning luxury retailers appropriate to the global reputation of New Bond Street.
Targeting the highest “Outstanding” BREEAM rating, NABERS 5.5*, WELL Platinum, LEED Platinum and EPC A, the scheme will retain around 50% of the existing structure, approximately 75% of the historic facades and will have an upfront carbon measure of 463kgCO2e/m2, which meets and exceeds industry targets.
Len Lazari, Director at Lazari, said, “This was a unique opportunity to establish a new development on an historic site, on London’s most exclusive retail street. There was a responsibility to deliver a scheme which provides revitalised, contemporary office and retail amenities, while at the same time being sympathetic and in keeping with its historic surroundings.
“The quality of design and prestige of the location was always going to attract the highest calibre of office occupier. McDermott squarely meets this description and we are delighted to welcome them as partners as we work together to create a state-of-the-art office that works as a magnet for their people and clients.”
Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott’s London Managing Partner comments, “This move is a significant milestone for McDermott. For us, this isn’t just a new office, it’s a space that truly represents our ambition to be at the pinnacle of the London legal market. This space reflects who we are: dynamic, collaborative, and future-focused. Mayfair is exactly where we belong: at the centre of the conversation, at the top of the market and shoulder to shoulder with our clients.”
Henry Peto and Jonathan Kingsley for Colliers represented McDermott and Matt Chicken and Richard Howard at CBRE and Phil Hobley and Ian McCarter at Knight Frank jointly represented Lazari.
