Derwent scheme was caught up in building safety sign-off delay, developer reveals

Derwent has revealed its £300m mixed-use scheme at 25 Baker Street was held up by Building Safety Regulator delays.

The job was completed by Laing O’Rourke last August and comprises 218,000sq ft of offices, 28,000sq ft of retail and 52,000sq ft of residential – which includes 41 private and 10 affordable homes.

Completion had been earmarked for earlier last summer but in its annual results announced this morning, the London developer said that “practical completion was slightly delayed to August 2025 due to timing of sign off by the Building Safety Regulator”.

Last month, BSR chair Andy Roe said it has driven down the amount of time it takes to get gateway 2 approval to be much closer to its stated aim of 12 weeks and that it had a ”plan A, B and C” for dealing with any gateway 3 hold-ups.

Meanwhile, Derwent said it expects to start main construction work on the nearby 50 Baker Street scheme by the middle of this year which is set to be built by Multiplex.

The £150m office development totals just over 122,000sq ft and is due to finished by the middle of 2029. McGee is on site carrying out preparatory work.

Derwent is also due to announce later this spring who has won the deal to refurbish Greencoat & Gordon House, a former Victorian warehouse in Westminster.

The office scheme, which is worth between £50m and £100m, has been designed by Squire & Partners, is scheduled to start in the first half of this year and finish towards the end of next year-.

And Kier is close to completing the Network building on Tottenham Court Road and has been appointed on a £100m scheme to redevelop a grade II-listed building on London’s Oxford Street. Derwent said the scheme is due to finish in the second half of 2028.

In a note accompanying the accounts, Derwent said it was “optimistic about the office market outlook” in London and added: “We are entering a period of very low new supply while demand remains robust, sector diverse and increasingly focused on best-in-class space. This imbalance supports rental growth and continued improvement in investment activity.”

In its 2025 results, Derwent said gross rental income last year was up 1.6% to £218m with its property portfolio valued at £4.9bn.