Kier Lands £60m Holborn Office Retrofit for Railpen

Kier has beaten four rival contractors to secure the estimated £60m refurbishment of 26 Red Lion Square in Holborn, London, for pension fund manager Railpen.

The contractor has entered a pre-construction services agreement for the 100,000 sq ft project, known as The Fenner, ahead of a planned site start later this year. Stiff + Trevillion designed the overhaul, which will convert the existing building into eight floors of Grade A workspace over a two-year programme.

The scheme includes new façades to Theobalds Road and Red Lion Square, upgraded ground-floor amenities and more than 9,000 sq ft of roof terraces.

Railpen is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, EPC A and NABERS 5-star ratings for the building while retaining and reusing significant parts of the existing structure.

Five contractors competed for the job. Kier won on the strength of its team and its central London office track record.

Graham Potts, regional director at Kier Construction London & Thames Valley, said: "Railpen is a new and significant client for Kier, one whose ambitious pipeline and progressive agenda aligns perfectly with our own values and approach."

The win extends a growing run of major London retrofit work for the contractor. Last month Kier secured Derwent London's £99m Holden House redevelopment on Oxford Street and The Crown Estate's 90,800 sq ft overhaul of the Grade II-listed 10 Piccadilly.

The Fenner forms part of Railpen's wider refurbishment and development programme, which covers around 600,000 sq ft of commercial space across London and Birmingham. The project signals how retrofits with top-tier sustainability credentials now anchor developers' central London pipelines — and Kier has positioned itself as the contractor of record for them.