Skanska has confirmed it has won the £500m job to build the Scalpel tower in the City of London, with the firm set to start on site this month
As Building revealed last month, Skanska beat off competition from Mace for the job, after Sir Robert McAlpine and Lend Lease dropped out at an earlier stage.
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) for the US insurance firm W.R. Berkley, the 190m-tall commercial office development has an internal floor area of 624,000 sq ft over 35 office floors and two basement levels, including retail and restaurant areas.
The City of London granted planning consent for the 38-storey tower - dubbed ‘the Scalpel’ - which will be home to W.R Berkley’s European HQ - in January.
The building, at 52 Lime Street, near the junction of Lime Street and Leadenhall Street in the City of London, is scheduled for completion in early 2017.
The job is one of the largest building contracts to come to market in recent years, with Skanska’s successful bid following the firm’s completion of the Heron Tower and the 30 St Mary’s Axe, known as the Gherkin, both also in the City.
Paul Heather, managing director at Skanska, said: “We are thrilled to be adding 52 Lime Street to our portfolio of City towers and forming a new relationship with the W.R. Berkley Corporation to provide the company with a European home in the heart of the City.”
W. R. Berkley is working with a development partner, Property Group Partners (PGP, formerly Louis Dreyfus Property Group), which is led by Jeffrey Sussman, to deliver the project.
Arup is working as structural and mechanical engineer on the project and EC Harris as quantity surveyor.
DP9 is working as the planning consultant.
The news came as Skanska reported UK revenue of £545m for the first six months of year, with an operating profit of £17.5m
“This continues a pattern of good and consistent results over several years,” said Skanska chief executive Mike Putnam.
“Overall performance remains at the levels we would expect at this stage in the year.”
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