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British Land has reached an important milestone today with a topping out ceremony for its latest London office development, Ropemaker, London EC2.

Designed by Arup Associates the 586,000 sq ft development completes in mid 2009. It is on target to achieve 15% lower carbon emissions than set out in the Building Regulations and is also on target for an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating – the most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings.

Paul Burgess, Head of London Leasing at British Land, said: “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone on time and on budget. With Ropemaker we will be delivering our most sustainable development yet in the City. Its ability to help occupiers reduce both operational costs and their environmental impact is combined with a great range of floorplates and a high level of specification to meet operational needs. The roof terrace gardens are of a scale and quality unparalled in the City and are a wonderful feature for occupiers.”

Ropemaker will enable occupiers to reduce energy and water use, cut down waste, decrease carbon emissions and lower associated costs. It also features some of the capital’s largest roof gardens – a total of 57,000 sq ft, equivalent in area to four Olympic swimming pools, or twelve basketball courts. 50% of the roof space at Ropemaker has been designated as green space, helping local bio-diversity.

In keeping with the sustainable credentials of Ropemaker and as a legacy of the event, British Land, working with the Woodland Trust, has pledged to fund the planting and life-long maintenance of 1,500 trees at The Hucking Estate near Hollingbourne in Kent, the equivalent of five trees for every guest attending the event.

Speaking about the donation, Janice Hix, Corporate Fundraising Manager of the Woodland Trust said: "The Woodland Trust is delighted to receive funding from British Land and would like to congratulate them on producing a building which incorporates the need for innovative, sustainable development."

The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity. During 2007, the Trust planted more than 1 million native trees in the UK.

Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis are joint letting agents for Ropemaker.

-Ends -

Media enquiries
Dominic Morgan               Vicki Wallin
Tel: 020 7269 9343          Tel: 020 7269 9360
Mob: 07775 518 587         Mob: 07973 823 119
Dominic.Morgan@FD.com   Victoria.Wallin@FD.com

Notes to Editors

British Land
British Land is the UK’s second largest Real Estate Investment Trust with total assets, owned or under management, of £16.5 billion, as at 30 June 2008.

The hallmark of the business is a focus on customers leading to a portfolio of over 40 million sq ft in prime locations in the UK and, a newer activity, in Western Europe. Active management of these assets, purchases and sales and an extensive development activity, tailor the property holdings to meet the needs of occupiers and the communities of which they are part.

The portfolio, focused on the Out of Town Retail and London Office sectors, has the longest leases (average 13.6 years) and the highest occupancy rates (98 per cent) of the major UK REITs.

Retail assets account for 59 per cent of the portfolio, 80 per cent of which is in prime out-of-town locations. Offices account for 39 per cent of the portfolio, of which 99 per cent is London-based. A 4.5 million sq ft office and retail development pipeline complements these holdings.

The company has recently collected three industry awards – Sustainable Developer of the Year, Retail Landlord of the Year and Developer of the Year.

With sustainability at the core of its business - from community involvement in the planning process, through development, refurbishment and management - the aim is to provide attractive buildings that minimise resource use and meet the needs of occupiers today and tomorrow.

The Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims:

i) No further loss of ancient woodland;
ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods;
iii) Increasing new native woodland;
iv) Increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland.

Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free. Further news can be found via this website .