Derwent letting brings renowned photography museum to London

Derwent London has pre-let the lower ground floors and office pavilion at The White Chapel Building in east London to Fotografiska for a new photography museum in the capital.

Fotografiska will pay £2.4m a year, or £27 / sq ft in rent, and occupy the whole of Phase 2 comprising 89,000 sq ft. The deal is based on a 15-year lease with five-year rent reviews based on annual RPI increases with a cap and floor, and with a break in year 12. The rent free period is equivalent to 30 months on a 12-year lease, rising to 36 months on a 15-year term. Completion of Phase 2 is expected in the second half of 2018.Derwent acquired the vacant White Chapel Building in December 2015, and refurbished the 185,000 sq ft of above ground office space in Phase 1, creating a new public entrance and an atrium, which is served by a café and bar. Phase 1 was fully let earlier this year and now hosts a occupiers including Government Digital Service, Wilmington, Perkins+Will, Unruly, Reddie & Grosse, Shipowners’ Club, ComeOn! and Lebara.

Fully let

John Burns, chief executive of Derwent London, said: “We are very excited to welcome Fotografiska - The London Museum of Photography to The White Chapel Building. We believe their arrival will be a major benefit to the area and Fotografiska’s character endorses the group’s focus on good design. This pre-let means that we will have successfully let the entire property.”Tommy Rönngren, founding partner and chairman of Fotografiska London, said: “Derwent is a developer with great creative vision and we chose to work with them because of the combination of the building itself and the creative heritage of Derwent. “Fotografiska has for a long time been searching for suitable facilities in London, one of the world’s most dynamic cities when it comes to photography. Whitechapel, which is one of London’s most dynamic areas, will be a perfect location. It will be really exciting to bring the concept of Fotografiska to London.”