Victoria has undergone regeneration in recent years, giving the area a new lease of life and a flurry of new office, retail and leisure commercial tenants to go with it. There is also an increase in large international brands flocking to the area, including Jimmy Choo, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Gucci and EDF Energy.
The developing area offers new, larger, more efficient buildings to tenants who want to remain in the West End but are looking for lower cost commercial space than those based in the Marylebone, Mayfair and St James’s areas.
However, as a result of global brands turning their attention to Victoria, and the creation of many larger modernised buildings, numerous rent sensitive office tenants have been forced to relocate to areas such as Southwark and City fringe locations such as Clerkenwell, Farringdon and Shoreditch.
Based on quoting office rents, basic and economical space in Victoria would range from £40.00 – £50.00 per Sq. Ft. with mid-range quality office buildings between £50.00 – £60.00 per Sq. Ft. Businesses can expect to pay between £60.00 – £80.00 per Sq. Ft. for top quality office space in Victoria with modern amenities such as air conditioning and raised floors.
The office developments in Victoria are reinventing the area as an exciting place to live, work and shop. New developments in the area are transforming the Westminster skyline, with a whole number of new buildings set to pop up in Victoria Street in the coming years.
One of the buildings nearing completion is the Zig Zag Building. Located at 66-74 Victoria Street, the 187,000 Sq. Ft. of commercial space is surrounded by restaurants and shops. Three storeys of the Zig Zag building have been pre-let to Jupiter Asset Management at a rent reported to be around £80.00 per Sq. Ft. which would set a new record for the Victoria area of the SW1 postcode.
The Nova development is at the centre of Victoria’s transformation into a global destination. The 480,000 Sq. Ft. development consists of office, leisure and residential space and is surrounded by Victoria Street, Buckingham Palace Road, Bressenden Place and Allington Street.
The Verde development situated at Bressenden Place is described as a workplace created for the 21st century and has been designed with well being and productivity of employees in mind. The 282,000 Sq. Ft. building will have an impressive 20,000 Sq. Ft. roof top garden. There will be six terraces, one on each level from the sixth to the eleventh floor, each offering views of Buckingham Palace, St James’ s Park and across central London. Monitoring and reporting of carbon footprints will allow tenants to track their own energy consumption using a software platform.
The History of Victoria
Victoria was named after Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901), who reigned for 63 years. Many buildings and monuments are also dedicated to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Probably the most famous place to bear their names is the Victoria and Albert Museum, or the V&A. The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. Where Cardinal Place now stands there was a large brewery (Stag Brewery) based on Victoria Street, but all that now remains of it is a street named Stag Place and a pub called the Stag.
