A winter garden abundant with greenery, designated spaces catering to both outgoing and reserved employees, a “social lobby,” and a cycling ramp leading into the building: this concept embodies the future of office environments.

This vision is being brought to life by property developer British Land through an extensive new initiative at 2 Finsbury Avenue, or “2FA”, located in the heart of London. In light of the pandemic’s disruption to the workplace, this ambitious development aims to provide everything necessary to ensure that contemporary office workers are engaged and content.

British Land, listed on the FTSE, anticipates that 2FA will become “an instantly recognizable addition” to London’s skyline, featuring one tower with 36 floors and another with 23, connected by a winter garden perched atop a 12-story “podium.”

With the challenges presented by Covid-19, major corporations seeking premium office spaces have altered their requirements, such as a demand for outdoor areas, notes Simon Carter, the CEO of British Land.

“The focus has shifted to providing a variety of spaces within buildings reflecting the changes in how we work,” Carter explains to the *Observer* from an office in nearby 3 Broadgate, which overlooks the 2FA construction site and Liverpool Street, now the busiest train station in the nation.

“It’s less about rows of traditional desks and basic functionality. That’s why our clients are allocating more space for relaxation zones, community areas, and private booths for calls.”

With holdings across the UK, British Land is highly motivated to maintain the appeal of urban office spaces. Founded in 1856, the firm oversees £13.6 billion in assets, including £8.9 billion in direct ownership. Its share prices have struggled to rebound since the 2008 financial crisis, remaining significantly below pre-Covid levels.

In late 2020, when Carter transitioned from CFO to CEO during the pandemic, many predicted the demise of the urban office.

However, he maintains that the bold choice to continue developing large office projects, including a separate site at 1 Broadgate, is now yielding rewards as city office rental prices rise and many large employers have mandated a return to in-person work.

Set for completion later this year, 96% of the office space at 1 Broadgate has already been leased to various companies, including real estate firm JLL and law firm A&O Shearman.

“We faced some significant decisions that felt momentous at the time,” Carter reflects.

“At that juncture, the prevailing narrative was ‘the office is dead; we’ve undergone a fundamental shift,’ yet we didn’t fully accept that since we believed in the benefits of collaboration in the workplace,” he recalls, reminiscing about the spring of 2021 when he and his team chose to move forward with 1 Broadgate’s development, supported by both instinct and data.

“We aimed to be guided by evidence, resisting the trend, and we noticed that businesses were still seeking space,” Carter observes. “We anticipated a supply shortage because others were not developing.”

Typically, commercial property firms promote the virtues of office work: at British Land, employees are encouraged to be at their desks four days a week, while Carter mentions he works remotely on Fridays “occasionally.” However, foot traffic at their properties has returned to pre-pandemic levels during the core midweek days of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Attendance patterns across the week have also “stabilized,” though Fridays see lighter attendance, which Carter suspects could signal a lasting change.

Indeed, the commercial property sector seems to be on an upswing post-Covid. According to real estate advisor Cushman & Wakefield, increasing office rents can be partly attributed to a shortfall of 5 million square feet in newly built or significantly refurbished office properties. Carter pulls out a photocopied presentation to illustrate his point. “I’m fond of numbers,” he grins, reflecting his financial background.

Another significant strategy during the pandemic for Carter was refocusing the portfolio on out-of-town retail parks instead of conventional shopping centers, such as Sheffield’s Meadowhall, where British Land divested its stake in a £360 million deal in 2024. In contrast, the firm invested £711 million into retail parks that year and is now reporting record occupancy rates of 99% at those locations.

The commercial property landscape, known for its cyclical nature, appears to have entered the second phase of its usual cycle, transitioning from recovery to expansion before facing oversupply and subsequent recession.

Carter’s own career has seen its share of cycles, though with fewer drastic fluctuations. He joined British Land shortly after graduating in economics from Cambridge, after which he qualified in accountancy and worked as a derivatives trader at UBS. He was then recruited to the treasuries team at British Land when the organization was under the leadership of renowned property executive Sir John Ritblat. After over a decade, he spent time with other real estate firms before returning as CFO in 2018 and ascending to the CEO position in late 2020, just as the country re-entered a national Covid lockdown, complicating the commercial property landscape as tenants, including retailers, gyms, and hospitality businesses, struggled with rent payments during enforced closures.

On a vibrant spring afternoon, while construction proceeds at 2FA, those challenging days feel distant. British Land’s properties at Broadgate are part of four “campuses” across London, including the new Canada Water development, integrating offices with retail shops, gyms, eateries, and inviting communal areas.

British Land has already secured agreements to lease over a third of 2FA to Citadel, a hedge fund, translating to more than 250,000 square feet of workspace, with the option for additional space at a cost of £100 per square foot.

While that price was once regarded as exceptional, analysts now predict further increases, noting that in 2024, there were more transactions exceeding £90 per square foot than in the preceding four years combined, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Companies are willing to invest in high-quality office spaces to entice their employees back, remarks Carter, highlighting the increasing demand for locations near major transit hubs.

“Businesses recognize the value in bringing their teams back together and in retaining and attracting talent by having premier headquarters,” he comments. “We serve the UK HQ market. This is what we provide, and I believe there’s less sensitivity to pricing; it’s all about the quality of the offering.”

On a lively midweek evening, the bars and restaurants at Broadgate are alive with professional attire-clad patrons enjoying after-work drinks and friends sharing meals. Carter’s conviction that London would rebound from Covid appears to have been justified.

**Profile**
– **Age**: 49
– **Family**: Married with two children
– **Education**: Attended Torquay Boys’ Grammar; studied economics at Cambridge
– **Compensation**: £2.5 million last year
– **Recent Vacation**: Skiing in Switzerland with university friends
– **Best Advice Received**: “John Ritblat said, ‘Simon, at times, the best strategy is glorious inactivity.’ I appreciate that perspective: it’s his belief that real estate is cyclical.”
– **Biggest Regret**: “My grandfathers shared their war stories around the dinner table on Sundays when I grew up, and I wish I had listened more closely.”
– **Phrase He Tends to Overuse**: “I love it when a plan comes together,” inspired by the 80s American television series *The A-Team*.
– **How He Unwinds**: He enjoys tennis and cycling, sometimes commuting 28 kilometers to the office during summer months.