McLaren confirmed for £130m revamp of Landsec tower

McLaren has signed a PCSA on a high-profile scheme to refurbish a 1960s office block in London’s Victoria after the original proposals were ditched.

Portland House was built in 1963 and developer Landsec said last year the initial plan to add a 14-storey block to the side of the existing 29-storey building had been dropped in order to meet is carbon reduction targets.

It meant proposals drawn up by Gensler were scrapped and Buckley Gray Yeoman brought in to work up a makeover instead. Other consultants working on the job include QS Exigere, M&E engineer Watkins Payne and structural engineer Parmarbrook. Opera is project manager and employer’s agent.

In December, Building revealed McLaren was set to sign a PCSA deal on the job, having beaten ISG to become preferred bidder with the value of the work put at £130m.

The block has been empty since summer 2021 and in its interim results last November, Landsec said the development, which has an overall value of close to £400m, would make a limited start this year “while markets remain unsettled”.

Erith has been carrying out some demolition and soft strip-out work ahead of McLaren starting work in earnest later this year.

Meanwhile, McLaren is one of two contractors expected to find out later this month who has won a £100m scheme to rework a postmodern landmark in Islington, north London. The firm is up against remaining rival Multiplex after a pitch from Skanska fell away.

Plans by AHMM to transform the early 1990s Angel Square development were approved last September.

The proposals, designed for US investor Tishman Speyer, will see the building’s external features, which include an Italianate campanile-style clock tower, stripped away and replaced with a glass facade.

Others working on the scheme include T&T as project manager, Core 5 as QS, AKT II as structural engineer and ChapmanBDSP as M&E consultant.