--- title: "City of London, London — Class A submarket" description: "The historic Square Mile — banking, insurance, law." canonical: https://classa.info/cities/london/city-of-london pageType: neighborhood lastUpdated: 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z license: "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Class A Atlas (https://classa.info)." --- > City of London is a trophy-tier Class A submarket of London with average asking rent around £95/sqft/yr · ≈ $121 PSF/yr USD. ## TL;DR - Eastern cluster holds the trophy product. - Strong Crossrail / Liverpool Street access. - Lease economics increasingly bifurcated by ESG rating. # City of London, London — Class A submarket *The historic Square Mile — banking, insurance, law.* · Tier: trophy · Avg rent: £95/sqft/yr · ≈ $121 PSF/yr USD ## TL;DR - Eastern cluster holds the trophy product. - Strong Crossrail / Liverpool Street access. - Lease economics increasingly bifurcated by ESG rating. ## Overview The Square Mile remains the gravitational center of UK financial services. The City's eastern cluster (Bishopsgate, Leadenhall, Fenchurch) hosts the tallest and newest [Class A](/glossary/class-a) stock. The western City (Chancery Lane, Holborn) is denser with law firms. ## Tenant profile Investment banks, insurance, asset managers, law firms, professional services. ## Typical specification 20-35,000 sqft floor plates in trophy product, [leed](/glossary/leed)-tenants">breeam">BREEAM Excellent or Outstanding standard for new build. ## Transit Liverpool Street (Elizabeth Line, Overground, National Rail), Bank, Cannon Street, Moorgate. Strong commuter rail flow from Essex, Kent, and the Home Counties. ## Amenities Leadenhall Market, Sky Garden, dense lunch and evening trade. ## Comparable buildings - **22 Bishopsgate** [](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=22%20Bishopsgate%2C%2022%20Bishopsgate%2C%20EC2N%204BQ%2C%20City%20of%20London%2C%20London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&query_place_id=ChIJV1VlsFIDdkgRxP5ZheORPUs) - **8 Bishopsgate** [](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=8%20Bishopsgate%2C%208%20Bishopsgate%2C%20EC2N%204BQ%2C%20City%20of%20London%2C%20London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&query_place_id=ChIJ31qsuFIDdkgRebGyHfPARX4) - **The Leadenhall Building** [](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=The%20Leadenhall%20Building%2C%20122%20Leadenhall%20Street%2C%20EC3V%204AB%2C%20City%20of%20London%2C%20London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&query_place_id=ChIJz_HBoVIDdkgRY0MAxWW4cmQ) — 'The Cheesegrater'. ## Where City of London sits in London City of London is one of 7 Class A submarkets we cover in London, classified as [trophy tier](/topics/trophy-asset-selection) with an average asking rent around £95/sqft/yr · ≈ $121 PSF/yr USD. Compared with the broader London Class A stock, City of London typically attracts Investment banks, insurance, asset managers, law firms, professional services and competes most directly with the city's other trophy submarkets on building specification, transit access, and [amenitisation](/glossary/amenitisation). Adjacent submarkets to study alongside City of London: [Mayfair & St James's](/cities/london/mayfair-st-james), [King's Cross](/cities/london/kings-cross), [Shoreditch & Tech Belt](/cities/london/shoreditch-tech-belt), [Canary Wharf](/cities/london/canary-wharf). The full London submarket atlas is at [/cities/london](/cities/london). ## Topic deep-dives for City of London For an institutional Class A occupier evaluating City of London, the highest-leverage analyses to commission next are the rent benchmark, the concession-package comparable, and the ESG performance baseline. Class A Atlas covers each as a dedicated topic page for this submarket: - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/rents-and-availability) - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/tenant-profile) - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/transit-and-commute) - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/amenity-and-lifestyle) - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/trophy-and-comparables) - [City of London — ](/cities/london/city-of-london/fit-out-and-spec) ## Related glossary Terminology specific to London Class A leasing and to the trophy tier: [Class A](/glossary/class-a), [Trophy asset](/glossary/trophy-asset), [Effective rent](/glossary/effective-rent), [Concession package](/glossary/concession-package), [TI allowance](/glossary/ti-allowance), [Submarket tier](/glossary/submarket-tier). ## Frequently asked questions ****Is the City still cheaper than the West End?**** : Yes — for equivalent Class A specification, City rents typically run 25-40% below the West End. The gap has narrowed for trophy assets. ## Editorial provenance Reviewed by [**Samuel Okafor**](/about/authors/samuel-okafor) — EMEA contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our [methodology](/about/methodology) and [editorial standards](/about/editorial-standards). ### Primary sources for this page - [CBRE Marketview reports](https://www.cbre.com/insights) — CBRE - [JLL Office Insight](https://www.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights) — JLL - [Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat](https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights) — Cushman & Wakefield - [Savills World Research](https://www.savills.com/research_articles/) — Savills - [Colliers Global Office Outlook](https://www.colliers.com/en/research) — Colliers [Full sources index](/about/sources) · [Submit a correction](/about/corrections) ## Related topics - [**Class A Lease Negotiation**](/topics/class-a-lease-negotiation) — How to negotiate a Class A office lease — the playbook from LOI to signed deal. - [**Hybrid Workplace Strategy**](/topics/hybrid-workplace-strategy) — How to size, structure, and lease a Class A office for a hybrid workforce. - [**ESG / LEED for Tenants**](/topics/esg-leed-tenants) — How tenants evaluate, negotiate, and report on ESG performance in a Class A office lease. - [**Cross-border Expansion**](/topics/cross-border-expansion) — How to run a coordinated Class A office search across multiple geographies. - [**Fit-out Capex**](/topics/fit-out-capex) — How to budget, sequence, and govern Class A office [fit-out](/topics/fit-out-capex)">fit-out capex. - [**Lease vs Flex**](/topics/lease-vs-flex) — When premium flex (coworking, managed office) beats a conventional Class A lease — and vice versa. --- Citation: Source: Class A Atlas (https://classa.info/cities/london/city-of-london), updated 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z.