Bovis Lend Lease has won a £134m construction management contract for phase one of Plantation Place, one of the largest office developments in the City of London.
The move is a departure for developer British Land, which has previously procured traditionally.

Work has started on the 78,000 m2 Fenchurch Street scheme. Bovis Lend Lease will manage the shell and core of the first phase, which is due for completion by spring 2004.

The 16-storey building will provide 48,000 m2 of office space and more than 2000 m2 of retail space. Most of the office space has been pre-let to management consultant Accenture.

Bovis Lend Lease project director Tim Atkinson admitted the project was a difficult one. He said: “The project has all the usual complicated logistical restraints of an inner-city site, which will require a proactive communications plan with a number of authorities and our neighbours. There are some challenging issues associated with temporary works and monitoring of structures throughout key phases.”

The scheme’s development manager is M3 Consulting, architect and structural/services engineer is Arup, and quantity surveyor is Gardiner & Theobald.

Rare Roman coins were discovered on the Plantation Place site last year during an archaeological dig. British Land passed the coins on to the Museum of London.