Linklaters signs lease agreement for 20 Ropemaker – new London headquarters

  • 20 Ropemaker a new building benefiting from prime City location, excellent facilities and flexible workspace
  • Firm to create a state-of-the-art environment prioritising, client service, employee health and wellbeing
  • Sustainability central to the development – 20 Ropemaker will be the tallest stone building constructed in London since St Paul’s Cathedral
  • Lease effective from 2026

Linklaters today announces that it has signed a new lease agreement for 20 Ropemaker, a new development which will serve as the global firm’s London headquarters from 2026. The new building benefits from a prime City location, excellent facilities and flexible workspace that the firm will develop to create a state-of-the-art environment that will prioritise client service, employee health and wellbeing and help to attract and retain outstanding talent.

Gideon Moore, Firmwide Managing Partner, said:

“This is an exciting moment in the long history of Linklaters and represents an important step into our future. Throughout the selection process, what has been clear to us is the value that our people place on the environment in which they work and the extraordinary benefits that 20 Ropemaker, built by a developer committed to achieving the highest standards and carefully designed to meet our requirements, will bring to the firm and to our clients.”

Frank Filskow, Lead architect for 20 Ropemaker, Make architects said:

“Our ambition for 20 Ropemaker Street is to create a sustainable workspace of the highest standard that focuses on its occupants’ wellbeing. The facade, which is self-shading, highly insulated and made from natural stone, will reduce the building’s embodied carbon and minimise its energy consumption. The stepped building form responds to the townscape and creates a series of extensive roof terraces that, combined with balconies on the majority of floors, give employees easy access to gardens, sunshine and fresh air. Glazed accommodation staircases and opening windows with uninterrupted views bring natural light into both work and circulation spaces while also encouraging the interconnection of floors, in turn promoting collaboration and healthy living among workers. With flexible floorplates and robust materials that will maximise its life, this building is part of a sustainable drive to fight the climate emergency and deliver workplaces that promote happiness, wellbeing and productivity.”

Tim Sketchley, Director, Old Park Lane Management Limited said:

“We are very pleased indeed to be developing for Linklaters their new global headquarters building. When we deliver this building to Linklaters in 2024 it will represent not only 8 years of careful planning and preparation and construction but also the firm Old Park Lane Management Limited view that partnership with customers underpins long term value and the Family Office’s view that London is a key long-term hub for a lot of our Real Estate activities around the world. We recognise that the combination of sustainability, flexibility of space, value for money and the contribution that property can make to the wellness agenda of organisations should be the driving principles behind all developments for this decade and beyond.”

About 20 Ropemaker:

  • Location: The site of 20 Ropemaker is just a couple of minutes away from the firm’s current building, One Silk Street, located between Finsbury Pavement, Ropemaker Street and Finsbury Street. The main entrance is on Ropemaker Street, facing City Point Plaza. Both Moorgate station and the new Crossrail station will be very close by.
  • Space: Linklaters has committed to taking in excess of 300,000 sq. ft of space in 20 Ropemaker from 2026, with the option of right-sizing this space in future years. The firm will initially occupy 14 floors of the building, from the ground up.
  • Dedicated reception: Although the building will be shared with other tenants, Linklaters will be the single largest occupier and will have a dedicated, Linklaters’ branded front entrance, reception area and lifts. As a result, clients will experience a seamless journey from reception to hospitality areas, including a flexible Auditorium on the first floor.
  • Outdoor spaces: Linklaters will have two large roof terraces, at floors 9 and 14. These ‘outdoor rooms’ offer employees a space to relax and to host informal meetings and events. Raised planters will be used to create a garden that will also help to section off areas for different uses and be visually interesting through the year, providing colour and supporting nature.
  • Health and wellbeing: Cyclists will benefit from a dedicated bike entrance on Ropemaker Street and the building provides excellent opportunities for us to develop facilities for employee health and wellbeing.