
A development proposal is being prepared for a 54-storey tower in the City of London to replace a 1970s-era building that is home to Multiplex Europe’s headquarters.
A new 240-metre-high (AOD) skyscraper is scheduled to be built at 99 Bishopsgate, 200 metres south of Liverpool Street Station.
The City of London Corporation received preliminary notification of the plan this month.
Having relocated from Broadgate in 2018, Multiplex Europe now resides on the second floor of the original 28-storey structure.
Documents submitted to the corporation detailed: “The design of the proposed development is ongoing at the time of preparing this [report], however, the proposed development is anticipated to comprise partial demolition of the existing building on site to facilitate the construction of a new, mixed-use, tall building with a separate pavilion building providing publicly accessible amenity and/or cultural space.
“Elements of the existing building will be retained where possible.”
According to the plan, the new skyscraper would have up to 97,000 square metres of office floorspace and about 2,000 square metres of publicly accessible retail, food and beverage space.
The materials exists as a request to the City of London Corporation for an environmental impact scoping opinion on the scheme before the submission of a comprehensive planning application.
Trium Environmental Consulting prepared the main report on behalf of 99 Bishopsgate S.A.R.L. — a Luxembourg-registered entity registered with Companies House in February.
Aviation bodies have already expressed concern over news of the scheme as the tower would become one of the tallest in the City of London.
National air traffic control body — NATS — have detailed in a submission to planners that the stated height of the building has “significant potential for an impact on operations”, specifically on a radar the body operates at Heathrow Airport.
The submission stated: “Accordingly, NATS anticipates the top half of the building to be sufficiently illuminated by the radar to reflect radar signals and cause false aircraft targets on air traffic controllers’ displays. This has an unacceptable impact on ATC (air traffic control) workload.”
London City Airport has also aired their concerns by informing planners that the scheme has the potential to conflict with its ‘safeguarding criteria’.
The current structure at 99 Bishopsgate was built by architect Richard Seifert, completed in 1976, and occupied by HSBC prior to its relocation to Canary Wharf.
In 1993, the building was damaged by a truck bomb placed outside by the Provisional IRA, prompting a major rehabilitation that included a new facade, the addition of two extra storeys and larger floorplates.
A new category A fit-out of 13,000 square metres of unoccupied office space in the tower was finished in 2012, and a new entrance facade and reception were completed in 2013.
99 Bishopsgate is adjacent to 55 Bishopsgate, which is also set to be redeveloped following the granting of planning permission for a 63-storey, 284-metre-tall (AOD) tower, set to become the Square Mile’s third tallest tower.
Multiplex was the major contractor for the 295-metre-tall (AOD) tower at 22 Bishopsgate, which is scheduled to be finished in 2020. It is the tallest structure in the City of London and the second tallest structure in the United Kingdom after The Shard.
The City of London approved the 73-storey, 289-metre-tall 1 Undershaft tower close to the Gherkin in 2019, although a major contractor has yet to be named.