London’s Eastern rising: How Chinese investors behind famous skyscrapers ‘The Cheesegrater’ and ‘Walkie Talkie’ dream up plan to turn The City into 24-hour economy and stronghold it against rivals Paris and New York

• 10 landlords in ‘eastern City’ trying to establish Business Improvement District 
• BID can charge other landlords and businesses levy to help improve the area 
• Hong Kong-based investors want to move away from 9-5 culture and make 24/7
• They want to make it more of a leisure destination after investing post-Brexit 

Chinese investors behind some of London’s tallest skyscrapers are vying to turn it into a 24/7 leisure and business hub to bolster its status as a global player after Brexit.

The Hong Kong-based owners of the ‘Cheesegrater’ and the ‘Walkie Talkie’ are among 10 City of London landlords looking to establish a Business Improvement District so they can charge businesses money to be used on boosting the area. 

Investors who poured billions into the London skyline after the value of the pound dropped following the 2016 EU referendum want to make sure the City still rivals the likes of Paris and New York. 

They say they want to move away from the traditional nine-to-five mentality and transform the area into a non-stop leisure destination as well as a business hub. 

Two of the landlords include Oyster Sauce giant Lee Kum Kee, who bought the Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street for a record-breaking £1.3billion in 2017, and CC Land, another Hong Kong giant who bought the Cheesegrater for £1.2bn the same year.

The City of London London skyline, including the Walkie Talkie (far right) and the Cheesegrater (centre) 

Adam Goldin, the UK head of CC Land, told The Times: ‘I don’t think Brexit will change the attractiveness of London but we need to ensure it is somewhere that businesses want to be and people want to raise their children.

‘We want to make the City more of a leisure destination and banish the nine-to-five model.’ 

Asia accounts for a huge amount of London’s office space, with 70 per cent of the total investment in the City in the first half of last year coming out of the continent. 

In 2017, Hong Kong investors bought The Walkie Talkie, The Cheesegrater and two high-rises in St James’s Square, Pall Mall. 

The group of 10 landlords is expected to pay up to £500,000 over two years to promote their new partnership.

After two years their neighbours, other landlords and businesses will vote on whether they want to formally establish a BID. 

This will then mean a mandatory levy on landlords and businesses that will go towards improving the area. 

The City is set to benefit from two new skyscrapers in the coming years, the Trellis and the Tulip. 

This tabbed-up graphic shows the newest skyscrapers towering about the Capital; including The Scalpel, The Walkie Talkie, The Shard and One Blackfriars 

The 1,000ft-high tower, dubbed ‘The Tulip’, will feature glass gondolas allowing visitors to ride on the outside, and will become the capital’s second highest building after the Shard.

The Tulip, which will have bars and restaurants inside to hold 1,500 people, will sit next to the Gherkin – the 590ft tower also known as 30 St Mary Axe which was designed in 2003 by the same architects, Foster + Partners. 

Visitors to the skyscraper will have a unique 360-degree vantage point of London, with bridges, internal glass slides and gondola pod rides – along with interactive displays and talks from experts about the capital’s history. 

Plans have been submitted to the City of London Corporation following a year of discussions and work is expected to start in 2020 on the building, which developers hope will attract one million visitors.  

The Trellis, real name 1 Undershaft, will stand at 1,000ft tall, and once built will be beaten only by The Shard, which is just 17ft taller. 

At 73 storeys high, it will also be the second tallest tower in western Europe, dwarfing the likes of The Gherkin and The Cheesegrater. 

After a lengthy fight by Singaporean developers Aroland Holdings, the City of London Corporation has granted permission to knock down the existing Aviva Tower and replace it with The Trellis. 

The 10 potential BID investors plan to work with Transport for London and the City of London Corporation, who manage the square mile, to improve traffic and air quality. 

MailOnline has contacted the City of London for comment.   

London’s giants: The towering skyscrapers that have dramatically changed the city’s famous skyline

The Shard: Construction began for this 95-storey building in 2005 which incorporates retail space, offices, a hotel, apartments, restaurants and a public viewing gallery. Europe’s tallest building is jointly owned by Sellar Property and the State of Qatar.

One Blackfriars: Looking down on the River Thames, this 170-metre high tower houses over 200 luxury apartments and was built in 2013. It is owned by Berkeley Group based in Surrey. The site was formerly occupied by the headquarters of Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Baltimore Tower: Located on the Isle of Dogs, this 45-storey building was built in 2013 and is made up of 366 apartments. It was designed by American architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. 

One Bank Street: One Bank Street is a 27-storey office building at the western end of the Canary Wharf Estate. It was designed by architects Kohn Pederson Fox and was completed earlier this year. 

Landmark Pinnacle:  This 764-ft building is still currently under construction and is on the Isle of Dogs. Comprised of residential units, its developers are Chalegrove Properties Limited.

The Diamond Tower: This tower has office space, a free public viewing gallery, a restaurant, a bar and shops. Still under construction, it will feature a public viewing gallery too. Hong Kong-listed Lai Sun Development assembled the site at 100 Leadenhall during 2014 and 2015, acquiring a number of buildings for a total of £188.5m.

The Walkie Talkie: Construction for the building at 20 Fenchurch Street was completed in spring 2014, and the three-floor ‘sky garden’ was opened in January 2015. The 38-story building is 160 m (525 ft) tall and is owned by the Hong Kong food company Lee Kum Kee Groups. 

The Scalpel:  This commercial skyscraper was built in 2018 and is used as office space including for the insurance company W R Berkley. The 36-storey building was developed by WRBC Development UK Limited.

Leadenhall Building: ‘The Cheesegrater’ was built in 2013 and is used as office space and has 48 floors. It is known informally as The Cheesegrater because of its distinctive wedge shape.

22 Bishopsgate: Construction started in 2016 and it has 62 floors. It features office space, including for several start up companies and and has various social amenities. It was developed by PLP Architects.   

110 Bishopsgate: Unofficially Salesforce tower, 110 Bishopsgate is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands at 230 metres tall including its 28-metre mast. The building was completed in 2011 and is used as office space. 

100 Bishopsgate: The buildings is situated on the eastern edge of the City of London financial district and has 40 floors of offices. It is owned by Brookfield Properties. 

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