25 Bank Street
Encyclopedia
25 Bank Street is an office tower in the Canary Wharf
business district of London
. It was developed in 2001-2003 by Canary Wharf Group
as one of five new buildings on its Heron Quays
site. The building was designed by architects Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects
and built by Canary Wharf Contractors.
Before construction, 25 Bank Street had been earmarked by Canary Wharf Group for occupation by Enron
's European subsidiary. This plan was abandoned in 2001, prior to Enron's collapse later that year.
From 2004, 25 Bank Street served as the European headquarters of Lehman Brothers International (Europe)
until the bank's insolvency in September 2008. The building continued to be used by the bank's administrators and various sub tenants.
In December 2010 it was announced that 25 Bank Street was to be sold to US bank JP Morgan Chase for £495 million, to serve as the European headquarters of its investment bank.
25 Bank Street, along with its neighbours HQ3 (40 Bank Street
) and HQ4 (50 Bank Street) were all designed by César Pelli in the International style
, featuring complementary external cladding of stainless steel, glass and stone. 25 Bank Street and 40 Bank Street, which are of equal height, are conjoined by the West Winter Garden glass enclosed concourse and all provide enclosed access to an underground retail mall. The building is designed around a central concrete core containing elevators, washrooms and services; this is surrounded by office floors with stainless steel and glass curtainwalls.
There are 5 basement levels, a ground floor, mezzanine, and a further 32 levels numbered 1 to 33. There is no 13th floor. The lower levels, up to level 8, incorporate large podium areas on the south and west sides. This allows large trading floors to be accommodated, each with a 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) floorplate. The south podium incorporates a secondary core.
In July 2000 Enron Europe opened negotiations with Canary Wharf Group to take 130,060 sq m (1.4 m sq ft) of space on the Canary Wharf estate. The HQ1 and HQ2 sites were earmarked for use by Enron in a mixed use development that would include a mini-power station. This development was planned to supplement Enron’s Victoria headquarters at 40 Grosvenor Place. The negotiations were discontinued early in 2001, prior to Enron’s insolvency later that year.
On 3 April 2001, Canary Wharf Group announced that it had concluded a 30 year lease agreement with Lehman Brothers for the entirety of the space in HQ2, a total of over 1000000 sq ft (92,903 m²). Under the terms of the agreement , Canary Wharf Group provided a number of financial incentives to Lehman Brothers, including coverage of fitting out costs up to £35 per sq ft; a further payment of £16 million on drawdown of the lease; and a contribution of £30 per sq ft towards the refitting of 408000 sq ft (37,904.4 m²) of office space occupied by Lehman Brothers in Broadgate, City of London.
River traffic was extensively used to minimise road deliveries; consignments of aggregates and structural steel were delivered by barge and a concrete batching plant was constructed on a barge anchored in the dock. At the end of the project the coffer dam was removed and the fill loaded onto barges for removal.
The construction of the rectangular concrete core was subcontracted to Byrne Bros (Formwork) Ltd, who used the PERI ACS self climbing formwork system. This was the first time this system had been used in the UK. By using the jumpform system, the subcontractor was able to use additional work platforms situated below the main work platform, so that multiple phases of work could be undertaken concurrently.
The West Podium of 25 Bank Street is situated at a height of 30 metres above a 100 metre length of the Docklands Light Railway
(DLR), including Heron Quays station. To protect the DLR, which continued to operate throughout construction, a concrete slab was installed above the railway that formed the base of the West Podium. This would support the upper floors and also act as an assembly deck during construction operations. The five levels of the West Podium are suspended from transfer trusses at the higher levels.
The building was topped out on 8 November 2002. George Iacobescu, Canary Wharf Group Chief Executive, and Jeremy Isaacs, chief executive of Lehman Brothers for Europe and Asia, both signed the final steel girder before it was hoisted into place. At that time, 25 Bank Street was London's 6th tallest skyscraper.
Elevators engineering was undertaken by Lerch, Bates & Associates, Inc. A specialist lighting arrangement was installed to illuminate the crown of the building. This was designed by LightMatters and involved providing an architectural lighting and control solution using a total of 5,472 LED fixtures installed between the inner wall and the outer glass shell of the building's 32nd level.
, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
, officiated at the opening ceremony.
The building's fit out was undertaken by Hilson Moran, who were responsible for both the shell & core services design for Canary Wharf Limited and the fit-out services design for Lehman Brothers. Facilities included a TV broadcast studio, meeting rooms and 400 seat auditorium at level 1; a 3000 sq metre Data Centre at level 2; four trading floors at levels 3 to 6; a Gym & Fitness Centre and staff restaurant at level 7; executive floors at levels 30 and 31; and twenty office floors. Plant floors were located at levels 8, 32 and 33. The shell & core architect was Adamsons Associates, with Swanke Hayden Connell as the fit-out architect.
Although levels 3-6 were all capable of being used as trading floors, only levels 4 and 5 were fully configured as such during the Lehman occupation.
The staff restaurant, at level 7, was operated by Restaurant Associates, who also provided catering services for corporate events hosted in the building.
The full floor configuration during the Lehman Brothers occupation was:
under US law and that it was therefore no longer in a position to make payments to or on behalf on LBIE. Accordingly, overnight preparations were made for a number of UK based Lehman companies to protect their interests by seeking an Administration Order under UK law. This order was granted by a UK judge at 7.56 am on Monday 15 September 2008.
were appointed as administrators of the UK business and as part of this task took over the management of 25 Bank Street. Having arranged the sale of parts of the Lehman business to Nomura International plc
, the administrators reached agreement to sub-lease approximately 358000 sq ft (33,259.3 m²) in 25 Bank Street to Nomura International. An additional 63000 sq ft (5,852.9 m²) of space was sub-let to Nomura in March 2010. These subleases were due to expire in March 2011; in the event, Nomura would exercise a break option in September 2010 and exit the building at that time. A further 126000 sq ft (11,705.8 m²) was sub-let to other tenants, including the Financial Services Authority, land agents Jones Lang Wootton and NYSE Euronext.
From 1 January 2010, Lehman Brothers (in Administration) reduced its occupation of 25 Bank Street to 290146 sq ft (26,955.4 m²); and from 31 March of that year exited the building entirely, moving to new premises at 25 Canada Square. The total property, IT and occupancy costs to the Lehman Brothers administration totalled $170 million for the 18 month period from the time of insolvency to the time of the 25 Bank Street exit. The office move resulted in annual cost savings of over $73 million.
of development to its Riverside South
scheme.
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
business district of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was developed in 2001-2003 by Canary Wharf Group
Canary Wharf Group
Canary Wharf Group plc is the owner and developer of nearly of property at Canary Wharf in London. It is notable because over the last 10 years it has constructed more office space in London than any other developer...
as one of five new buildings on its Heron Quays
Heron Quays
Heron Quays forms part of the Canary Wharf area the Docklands, east London. It has a Docklands Light Railway station, which was moved south after the development was expanded....
site. The building was designed by architects Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects
César Pelli
César Pelli is an Argentine architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects...
and built by Canary Wharf Contractors.
Before construction, 25 Bank Street had been earmarked by Canary Wharf Group for occupation by Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
's European subsidiary. This plan was abandoned in 2001, prior to Enron's collapse later that year.
From 2004, 25 Bank Street served as the European headquarters of Lehman Brothers International (Europe)
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
until the bank's insolvency in September 2008. The building continued to be used by the bank's administrators and various sub tenants.
In December 2010 it was announced that 25 Bank Street was to be sold to US bank JP Morgan Chase for £495 million, to serve as the European headquarters of its investment bank.
Design and Development
In July 2000, Canary Wharf Group formally announced the development of the 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) Heron Quays site, on the southern boundary of the Canary Wharf estate. This would involve the construction of five buildings providing a total of 3300000 sq ft (306,580 m²) of Grade A office space. During the development phase, the five buildings were designated HQ1 to HQ5, with 25 Bank Street designated as HQ2.25 Bank Street, along with its neighbours HQ3 (40 Bank Street
40 Bank Street
40 Bank Street is a skyscraper in Heron Quays, Docklands, London. It is tall and has 33 floors. The building was designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates and it was built by Canary Wharf Contractors....
) and HQ4 (50 Bank Street) were all designed by César Pelli in the International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
, featuring complementary external cladding of stainless steel, glass and stone. 25 Bank Street and 40 Bank Street, which are of equal height, are conjoined by the West Winter Garden glass enclosed concourse and all provide enclosed access to an underground retail mall. The building is designed around a central concrete core containing elevators, washrooms and services; this is surrounded by office floors with stainless steel and glass curtainwalls.
There are 5 basement levels, a ground floor, mezzanine, and a further 32 levels numbered 1 to 33. There is no 13th floor. The lower levels, up to level 8, incorporate large podium areas on the south and west sides. This allows large trading floors to be accommodated, each with a 50000 sq ft (4,645.2 m²) floorplate. The south podium incorporates a secondary core.
In July 2000 Enron Europe opened negotiations with Canary Wharf Group to take 130,060 sq m (1.4 m sq ft) of space on the Canary Wharf estate. The HQ1 and HQ2 sites were earmarked for use by Enron in a mixed use development that would include a mini-power station. This development was planned to supplement Enron’s Victoria headquarters at 40 Grosvenor Place. The negotiations were discontinued early in 2001, prior to Enron’s insolvency later that year.
On 3 April 2001, Canary Wharf Group announced that it had concluded a 30 year lease agreement with Lehman Brothers for the entirety of the space in HQ2, a total of over 1000000 sq ft (92,903 m²). Under the terms of the agreement , Canary Wharf Group provided a number of financial incentives to Lehman Brothers, including coverage of fitting out costs up to £35 per sq ft; a further payment of £16 million on drawdown of the lease; and a contribution of £30 per sq ft towards the refitting of 408000 sq ft (37,904.4 m²) of office space occupied by Lehman Brothers in Broadgate, City of London.
Construction
The construction of 25 Bank Street was undertaken by Canary Wharf Contractors, with an overall build time of 32 months. The geography of the site presented considerable access challenges in that it was surrounded by water on three sides, with two thirds of the fourth side in the former dock. A coffer dam was constructed in the dock to enable the water to be pumped out and a road was built on top of the dam, with earth ramps to enable construction traffic to reach the construction site.River traffic was extensively used to minimise road deliveries; consignments of aggregates and structural steel were delivered by barge and a concrete batching plant was constructed on a barge anchored in the dock. At the end of the project the coffer dam was removed and the fill loaded onto barges for removal.
The construction of the rectangular concrete core was subcontracted to Byrne Bros (Formwork) Ltd, who used the PERI ACS self climbing formwork system. This was the first time this system had been used in the UK. By using the jumpform system, the subcontractor was able to use additional work platforms situated below the main work platform, so that multiple phases of work could be undertaken concurrently.
The West Podium of 25 Bank Street is situated at a height of 30 metres above a 100 metre length of the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
(DLR), including Heron Quays station. To protect the DLR, which continued to operate throughout construction, a concrete slab was installed above the railway that formed the base of the West Podium. This would support the upper floors and also act as an assembly deck during construction operations. The five levels of the West Podium are suspended from transfer trusses at the higher levels.
The building was topped out on 8 November 2002. George Iacobescu, Canary Wharf Group Chief Executive, and Jeremy Isaacs, chief executive of Lehman Brothers for Europe and Asia, both signed the final steel girder before it was hoisted into place. At that time, 25 Bank Street was London's 6th tallest skyscraper.
Elevators engineering was undertaken by Lerch, Bates & Associates, Inc. A specialist lighting arrangement was installed to illuminate the crown of the building. This was designed by LightMatters and involved providing an architectural lighting and control solution using a total of 5,472 LED fixtures installed between the inner wall and the outer glass shell of the building's 32nd level.
Lehman Brothers
25 Bank Street served as the headquarters of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) and associated Lehman Brothers entities in Europe. The building was officially opened as Lehman Brothers' European headquarters on 5 April 2004. Gordon BrownGordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, then the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, officiated at the opening ceremony.
The building's fit out was undertaken by Hilson Moran, who were responsible for both the shell & core services design for Canary Wharf Limited and the fit-out services design for Lehman Brothers. Facilities included a TV broadcast studio, meeting rooms and 400 seat auditorium at level 1; a 3000 sq metre Data Centre at level 2; four trading floors at levels 3 to 6; a Gym & Fitness Centre and staff restaurant at level 7; executive floors at levels 30 and 31; and twenty office floors. Plant floors were located at levels 8, 32 and 33. The shell & core architect was Adamsons Associates, with Swanke Hayden Connell as the fit-out architect.
Although levels 3-6 were all capable of being used as trading floors, only levels 4 and 5 were fully configured as such during the Lehman occupation.
The staff restaurant, at level 7, was operated by Restaurant Associates, who also provided catering services for corporate events hosted in the building.
The full floor configuration during the Lehman Brothers occupation was:
| Floor | Net usable floorspace | Occupants |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | - | Plant floor |
| 32 | - | Plant floor |
| 31 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Client hospitality rooms; executive dining room |
| 30 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Executive management |
| 29 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Investment Management Division |
| 28 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Investment Management Division |
| 27 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Investment Banking Division |
| 26 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Investment Banking Division; Corporate Real Estate |
| 25 | 26100 sq ft (2,424.8 m²) | Investment Banking Division |
| 24 | 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) | Information Technology |
| 23 | 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) | Mortgage Capital Division; Fixed Income Real Estate |
| 22 | 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²) | Legal; Internal Audit; Compliance |
| 18-21 | 25400 sq ft (2,359.7 m²) | Sublet to tenants |
| 17 | 25400 sq ft (2,359.7 m²) | Unused office space |
| 14-16 | 25400 sq ft (2,359.7 m²) | Sublet to tenants |
| 12 | 24800 sq ft (2,304 m²) | Finance; Operations; Corporate Services |
| 11 | 24400 sq ft (2,266.8 m²) | Finance; Operations |
| 10 | 24800 sq ft (2,304 m²) | Finance; Operations |
| 9 | 24800 sq ft (2,304 m²) | Fixed Income Division; Mortgage Capital Division |
| 8 | - | Plant floor |
| 7 | 70300 sq ft (6,531.1 m²) | Staff restaurant; gymnasium; travel; security; print services |
| 6 | 69800 sq ft (6,484.6 m²) | Fixed Income, Investment Banking and Equities Middle Office |
| 5 | 69700 sq ft (6,475.3 m²) | Equities trading floor |
| 4 | 69500 sq ft (6,456.8 m²) | Fixed income trading floor |
| 3 | 47100 sq ft (4,375.7 m²) | Information Technology |
| 2 | 48700 sq ft (4,524.4 m²) | Technical Operations; Data Centre |
| 1 | 45600 sq ft (4,236.4 m²) | Human Resources; meeting rooms; services; TV studio and editing suite |
| Ground | 32600 sq ft (3,028.6 m²) | Reception and entrance lobby; auditorium; meeting rooms |
Insolvency
The cash resources of the Lehman Group were managed centrally in New York by the parent company, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI). Following a deterioration in LBHI's financial position, on the afternoon of Sunday 14 September 2008, the directors of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) Ltd (LBIE) sought assurances from LBHI that payments due to be made on its behalf on the following business day would be made. At approximately 12.30 am on 15 September, LBHI informed LBIE that it was preparing to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protectionChapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
under US law and that it was therefore no longer in a position to make payments to or on behalf on LBIE. Accordingly, overnight preparations were made for a number of UK based Lehman companies to protect their interests by seeking an Administration Order under UK law. This order was granted by a UK judge at 7.56 am on Monday 15 September 2008.
Ongoing occupation of 25 Bank Street
PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
were appointed as administrators of the UK business and as part of this task took over the management of 25 Bank Street. Having arranged the sale of parts of the Lehman business to Nomura International plc
Nomura Group
The formerly Nomura zaibatsu is a company headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo.Nomura is one of the major industrial and financial conglomerate groupings of Japan. Osaka Nomura bank was founded by Tokushichi Nomura II in 1919 after many successful business ventures; it was established on the Mitsui...
, the administrators reached agreement to sub-lease approximately 358000 sq ft (33,259.3 m²) in 25 Bank Street to Nomura International. An additional 63000 sq ft (5,852.9 m²) of space was sub-let to Nomura in March 2010. These subleases were due to expire in March 2011; in the event, Nomura would exercise a break option in September 2010 and exit the building at that time. A further 126000 sq ft (11,705.8 m²) was sub-let to other tenants, including the Financial Services Authority, land agents Jones Lang Wootton and NYSE Euronext.
From 1 January 2010, Lehman Brothers (in Administration) reduced its occupation of 25 Bank Street to 290146 sq ft (26,955.4 m²); and from 31 March of that year exited the building entirely, moving to new premises at 25 Canada Square. The total property, IT and occupancy costs to the Lehman Brothers administration totalled $170 million for the 18 month period from the time of insolvency to the time of the 25 Bank Street exit. The office move resulted in annual cost savings of over $73 million.
J P Morgan Investment Bank
On 20 December 2010 J.P. Morgan announced the acquisition of 25 Bank Street to become the new European headquarters of its Investment Bank in 2012. The purchase price would be £495 million. This was one of several real estate commitments announced by the bank that also included the purchase of 60 Victoria Embankment, a London building that the bank had been leasing since 1991 and which accommodates the firm's Treasury and Securities Services division. J.P. Morgan also announced that it had reached agreement with Canary Wharf Group to fund a further trancheTranche
In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. The word tranche is French for slice, section, series, or portion, and is cognate to English trench . In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's...
of development to its Riverside South
Riverside South (Canary Wharf)
Riverside South is a proposed skyscraper development in Canary Wharf, London. Some below ground-level work has been carried out by the investment bank JP Morgan, which bought a 999 year lease on the site with the intention of making the building its London office, but the firm now plans to move...
scheme.