London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 04, 2025

Why Lloyd's of London could be saying farewell to the iconic HQ designed to bring people together

Why Lloyd's of London could be saying farewell to the iconic HQ designed to bring people together

The Lloyd's Building's opening in 1986 symbolised the City of London's renaissance and heralded a wave of thrilling new developments across the Square Mile from Broadgate Circle to the Gherkin.

It is one of the most recognisable buildings in Britain.


The Lloyd's Building on Lime Street in the City, designed for the world's oldest insurance market by the visionary architect Richard Rogers, revolutionised the way we look at buildings by positioning lifts and ducts on the outside in order to maximise available space on the inside.

By the end of the decade, though, it may be being used by a different tenant from the one that provides its name.

The design revolutionised the way we look at buildings by positioning lifts and ducts on the outside


The market is holding a review in response to changing working habits and React News, the real estate market intelligence provider, reports that, although Lloyd's of London's lease on the building does not run out until 2031, there is a break in the contract that it could exercise in 2026 if it wants to leave early.

Lloyd's was quick to close its underwriting room - specifically designed to bring people together to write reinsurance contracts face to face - at the start of the pandemic.

From a capacity of up to 7,000 people in the room, prior to the pandemic, just several hundred people were working there by the middle of 2020.

Now the market is having to think about how many people, in future, will be seeking to locate themselves physically in the building.

Lloyd's said: "As we adapt to new structures and flexible ways of working, we are continuing to carefully think about the future requirements for the spaces and services our marketplace needs.

"Currently, like many other organisations, we are considering a range of options around our workspace strategy and the future leasing arrangements for Lloyd's."

Were Lloyd's to leave the Lloyd's Building, it would be an extraordinary moment.

The word iconic is overused, but when it comes to this building, it is entirely appropriate.

The Lloyd's Building, which took eight years to build at a cost of £75m, was a symbol of the City of London's renaissance when it was officially opened by the Queen on 18 November 1986.

Mrs Thatcher's Big Bang reforms had been enacted the previous month - unleashing competition across the Square Mile and attracting a wave of investment into the City by American, Japanese and German banks.

And, while Big Bang was a reform of equity markets and not insurance, the bold design of the Lloyd's Building was a supreme statement of confidence.

It projected to the outside world that the City, despite its institutions being centuries-old in some cases, was embracing modernity.

Like all great architectural works, it was not to everyone's taste, initially.

An un-named Lloyd's underwriter complained to the Financial Times shortly after relocating to the new headquarters that the building was dark and gloomy and suffered from poor air-conditioning, that the glass lifts were covered in bird droppings and looked "tatty" and that problems with the new escalators - a key part of the design - were taking it longer to transact business.

The Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater and the Gherkin were part of a wave of transformation kicked off by the Lloyd's Building


This denizen of what was always regarded as a highly conservative institution grumbled: "I don't know whether the air-conditioning will work when the next heatwave comes along, but I suspect that even if it improves, we will still see people taking their jackets off.

"This never happened in all my 26 years in the old building."

The opening of the Lloyd's Building, though, heralded a wave of thrilling new buildings across the Square Mile and competition among architects and developers to come up with the most imaginative designs.

These transformed the City's landscape.

Hot on the heels of the Lloyd's Building came the Broadgate Circle, developed by Sir Stuart Lipton and Godfrey Bradman and designed by Arup, built on the site of the old Broad Street railway station.

Famous for its amphitheatre, which in the winter was host to what was London's first "turn up and skate" open ice rink, it too is now one of the City's most recognisable landmarks.

Across the City, meanwhile, the ugly concrete blocks that had sat alongside St Paul's Cathedral since the 1960s were torn down and replaced in 2003 by the striking Paternoster Square development, which quickly became the new home for the London Stock Exchange.

The following year, the development was completed when Sir Christopher Wren's historic Temple Bar Gate - the traditional entry point to the west of the Square Mile - was relocated there.

The design for No 1 Poultry was denounced by Prince Charles as resembling a '1930s wireless set'


These buildings and developments did not go up without what were often long and drawn-out hold-ups to the planning process.

One of the most bitter concerned the redevelopment of No 1 Poultry, next to the Mansion House, which had previously been a gothic Victorian building that housed the headquarters of jewellers Mappin and Webb.

It took several decades of campaigning by Lord Palumbo and the architect James Stirling to redevelop the site.

The design for the new building was denounced by Prince Charles as resembling a "1930s wireless set" but it is now so much a part of the City's fabric that its rooftop restaurant, Coq d'Argent, was even used as the site for the Queen's fictional helicopter departure point in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.

Other remarkable buildings followed as the City of London Corporation sought to out-do the giant glass and steel temples being erected a few miles to the east in Canary Wharf.

They included the Gherkin, which opened in April 2004 and the Heron Tower (now the Salesforce Tower), developed by Gerald Ronson and designed by the US architects Kohn Pederson Fox. It opened in 2011.

Next came the Walkie-Talkie (20 Fenchurch Street), which opened in April 2014 and the Cheesegrater (122 Leadenhall Street), which opened three months later.

More recently has come the stunning 22 Bishopsgate, the City's tallest building, developed by Sir Stuart Lipton and Peter Rogers, the younger brother of Richard Rogers.

This wave of transformation was all kicked off by the opening of the Lloyd's Building and it is no coincidence that the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater and the Walkie-Talkie, three of the most controversial of the new towers, are close to it in the EC3 postcode, long regarded as the City's "insurance quarter".

Lloyd's has been through much cultural change in recent years and a move away from its headquarters would no doubt be as much of wrench as it was to the crusty old underwriters who moved in there 35 years ago.

But it would be totally in keeping with the way this venerable City institution is evolving.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
×