British Land : Ardagh Glass signs at 10 Portman Square

British Land has announced that Ardagh Glass, a subsidiary of Ardagh Group, a leading global glass and metal packaging manufacturer, has agreed to let 10,250 sq ft of office space at 10 Portman Square, W1.

The company will occupy part of the first floor, signing a ten year lease with a five year break.

Ardagh will join investment management company Independent Franchise Partners, who agreed terms on the other half of the first floor in July. The building, which provides 113,700 sq ft of Grade A office space over seven floors, is also home to Aspect Capital, Arrowgrass Capital Partners and Aramco Overseas Company.

The latest deal brings occupancy across the 2.4 million sq ft West End office portfolio to 96%, up from 88% at 31 March 2014.  Completed in May 2013, 10 Portman Square was delivered as part of British Land's 2010 Development Programme, comprising 2.7 million sq ft of space, including circa 820,000 sq ft in the West End.

Award-winning architecture and interior design practice Jestico+Whiles led the design of 10 Portman Square, which offers column-free floorplates of 18,500 sq ft and benefits from natural light on all four sides and stunning views across Portman Square.

James Danby, Head of Office Leasing, British Land, said: "It is a testament to the quality of the building, its exceptional design and location, just a stone's throw from Mayfair, that 10 Portman Square is nearly fully let, just a year after launch. We are very pleased that the remaining space is now also under offer, with occupiers drawn from a wide range of sectors."

Knight Frank and JLL represented British Land. Colliers represented Ardagh Glass.

For more information on 10 Portman Square please visit www.10portmansquare.com

About British Land
We are one of Europe's largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London Offices & Residential. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed of £17.6 billion (British Land share of which is £11.9 billion), as valued at 31 March 2014. Our properties are home to over 1,000 different organisations and receive over 300 million visits each year. Our objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people's everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to effectively finance these places.

UK Retail assets account for 53% (pro forma for developments at estimated end value) of our portfolio. As the UK's largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today, from major regional shopping centres to single occupier locations. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising around 25 million sq ft of retail space across 63 retail parks, 82 superstores, 14 shopping centres, 12 department stores and 77 leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.

Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 47% (pro forma for developments at estimated end value) of our portfolio is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high‑quality buildings in well‑managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.3 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent's Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).

Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to the delivery of our overall objective of driving shareholder value and creating Places People Prefer.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com