122 Leadenhall Street

122 Leadenhall Street, also known as the Leadenhall Building, Leadenhall Tower or informally the Cheesegrater, is a 225-metre-tall (738 ft) skyscraper in central London. It opened in July 2014 and was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The informal name references its wedge shape similar to the kitchen utensil. The building adjoins the Lloyd's Building, also designed by Richard Rogers. The previous, 1960s building on the site was owned by British Land and had been designed by Gollins Melvin Ward. By December 2009, the site was cleared but construction stalled because of the 2008 financial crisis. The project was revived in 2010 by Oxford Properties in partnership with British Land.

From 1840, P&O had occupied the offices of Willcox & Anderson. However, business east of the Gulf of Suez increased in the late 1840s, so it needed larger offices. In 1845, the company purchased the King's Arms inn and hotel at 122 Leadenhall Street for £7,250. A new office building on the site cost it about £8,000 and opened in 1848. In 1854, the company expanded its offices with a lease on 121 Leadenhall Street, and further 80 year leases from St Thomas's Hospital on dwellings at 123, 124 and 125 which were demolished to create a new frontage for 122. By the mid-1960s, the company sought more office space from its narrow site. Commercial Union Assurance Company planned a redevelopment on the adjacent site at the corner of St Mary Axe but that had poor access. To achieve a satisfactory planning consent and optimise floor space the two companies carried out a joint development, with adjustment of boundaries, and creation of an open concourse at the junction of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe.

Building data from Wikidata (CC0); heights normalised. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).