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Planning approval has been granted to convert 19 Charterhouse Street from a five\u2011storey \u2018fortress\u2011like\u2019 office into a nine\u2011storey Grade A, low\u2011carbon workspace with retail and affordable jewellery workshops, as a joint venture led by BNF Capital and Morgan Real Estate seeks NABERS 5*, BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Platinum and other certifications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to the original report, DSDHA has won planning approval to overhaul and extend the commercial building at 19 Charterhouse Street, at the entrance to London\u2019s Hatton Garden jewellery district. Architects\u2019 Journal described the existing structure as \u201cfortress\u2011like\u201d, a description the proposals aim to soften by opening up ground\u2011floor activity and improving connections into the surrounding streets.<\/p>\n
The approved scheme, put forward by a joint venture led by BNF Capital and Morgan Real Estate, reconfigures and increases the building\u2019s floorspace substantially. The owners propose to convert the present five\u2011storey office into a nine\u2011storey Grade A office building, growing net internal area from roughly 5,575 m\u00b2 to about 7,900 m\u00b2 \u2014 a change various trade reports equate to an uplift from approximately 60,000 sq ft to some 85,000 sq ft. The proposals also allocate about 8,500 sq ft for retail uses and so\u2011called affordable jewellery workshop units intended to support Hatton Garden\u2019s specialist cluster.<\/p>\n
The design, which DSDHA prepared for the JV, sets out a strong sustainability and wellbeing brief. The developers say the scheme will target leading certifications including NABERS 5*, BREEAM Outstanding, WiredScore and WELL Platinum, and will introduce biodiverse private and communal terraces. According to planning documents reported in the trade press, the intent is to deliver a low\u2011carbon retrofit that also improves street activity and the public realm around the site.<\/p>\n
The transaction that enabled this repositioning took place after Derwent London agreed to sell its freehold interest in the building in 2023. Industry reports state the disposal was exchanged for \u00a354.0 million to a family office advised by Morgan Capital and BNF Capital; the property was described at the time as producing a passing rent from a tenant whose lease expired in August 2025. Commentators framed the sale as part of Derwent\u2019s broader strategy to recycle capital into larger, net\u2011zero development opportunities.<\/p>\n
Market coverage places the scheme in a wider trend: central London investors and owners are increasingly pursuing retrofit\u2011led refurbishments to deliver low\u2011carbon, high\u2011quality workspace rather than large new\u2011build options. Estates Gazette and other outlets noted the Farringdon project as one of a number of sustainable office refurbishments responding to continuing demand for upgraded city centre offices; industry reporting also says the joint venture has additional central\u2011London projects in its pipeline.<\/p>\n
If realised as envisaged, the scheme would do more than add offices: the inclusion of affordable jewellery workshops aims to preserve and bolster the local Hatton Garden economy, while active frontages and enhanced public realm treatments are pitched to improve pedestrian permeability. The architects and developers present these measures as balancing commercial uplift with local, street\u2011level benefits.<\/p>\n
Next steps for the project will include detailed construction programming and mobilisation. Trade reporting has indicated the JV sees the scheme as part of a programme of works they expect to push forward in the coming years; the planning approval signals a material shift from proposal to delivery, but timelines and start dates remain subject to market conditions and contractor procurement. The developers\u2019 sustainability ambitions and the site\u2019s proximity to Farringdon station mean the scheme will be watched as an example of retrofit\u2011led urban renewal in central London.<\/p>\n