Kier triumphs in five-way race for £65m Holborn office refurb

Kier has beaten four others to land a refurbishment job in central London for developer Railpen.

The developer, which manages the £36bn railways pension scheme in the UK, has appointed Kier on a PCSA for the job, believed to be worth around £65m, at Red Lion Square in Holborn.

Kier, who beat Wates, Galliford Try, McLaughlin & Harvey and Bam, is expected to start on the job by the end of year with a finish set for late 2028.

The job is Kier’s first for Railpen which is underway with a major refurbishment and development programme of 600,000sq ft of commercial space in London and Birmingham.

Called the Fenner, the Holborn work involves overhauling 100,000sq ft of space across eight floors and will include new roof terraces as well as new ground floor amenities.

Architect on the scheme is Stiff + Trevillion with Ridgelift as development manager.

Graham Potts, Kier Construction’s regional director for London & Thames Valley, said: “Railpen is a new and significant client for Kier. While developing in London is always complex, Railpen’s vision is clear and unifying, and we’re excited to be selected under a Preconstruction Services Agreement. This agreement marks another milestone in our growing retrofit and repurpose offer in the commercial sector.”

Parminder Singh, development director at Railpen, added: “In construction, we have a carefully considered approach when it comes to selecting our partners, with regards to things like sustainability and quality of build. For The Fenner, Kier stood out during a very competitive tender process because they share our ethos, have a collaborative approach and have the skills and experience required to deliver the best buildings for our occupiers.”

Earlier this month, Kier was told it had won a deal worth around £90m to refurbish a 30-year-old building at 1 Fleet Place in London which sits above City Thameslink station.

The firm beat Multiplex and Mace to the job in the City which has been the London office of US law firm Dentons ever since it opened in the 1990s.

And the firm last month formally inked a £99m scheme to redevelop a grade II-listed building on London’s Oxford Street for Derwent, beating McLaren and Wates to the Holden House job.