70 St Mary Axe

70 St Mary Axe, informally known as the Can of Ham due to its shape,^[10] is an office building in the City of London. It was completed in early 2019.^[2] With 21 floors above ground, it is 90 metres (295 ft) tall and offers 28,000 square metres (301,400 sq ft) of office space.^[6] During its construction, the City of London Corporation decided to pedestrianise the part of St Mary Axe along which the building sits, between Bevis Marks to the south-west and Houndsditch to the north-east.^[11][12]

70 St Mary Axe
Seen from Bevis Marks
Alternative names	The Can of Ham[1]
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Office
Location	St Mary Axe, London, EC3[2]
Coordinates	51°30′55″N 00°04′46″W
Construction started	2015[3]
Completed	2019[4]
Opened	2019
Cost	£135m[5]
Owner	Nuveen[3]
Height
Roof	90 metres (295 ft)[6]
Technical details
Floor count	21 (above ground, including ground floor) plus two basement levels[7]
Floor area	28,063.8 square metres (302,100 sq ft) (office space)[8]
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Foggo Associates[2]
Structural engineer	Foggo Associates[9]
Main contractor	Mace Group Ltd[3]
Website
https://70stma.co.uk/

Development

The profile is said to resemble a can of ham.

The architectural design was created by Foggo Associates for Targetfollow, and planning permission was granted in 2008.^[2] Targetfollow sold the site to Nuveen in 2011 for £20m^[2] but development was delayed during the global financial crisis.^[13][10]

The sole tenant of 60 St Mary Axe agreed in 2014 to exit their lease early, and in 2015 Mace Group Ltd was appointed to build the project.^[2] Construction began that same year, and involved 400 workers, 90% of whom were employed through subcontractors.^[14]

During development, the project was criticised by some for its shape and its size.^[15][16]

Construction completed in Spring 2019, but the building did not open until later in the year.^[17]

Attempted sale

US private equity firm Blackstone aimed to buy 70 St Mary Axe from owner Nuveen, but the bid failed in December 2024 because Blackstone's offer of £300m was below Nuveen's £322m asking price.^[18] An earlier plan to sell for £400m in 2022 was also abandoned due to lack of interest.^[18]

In popular culture

Television

The building was used as the location for the interview stage in the 2019 and 2022 series of The Apprentice.^[19][20]

Theatre

The address, 70 St Mary Axe, was the location of the title character's offices in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1877 operetta The Sorcerer.^[21][22]

Literature

The address, 70 St Mary Axe, is a recurring location in the novels of Tom Holt,^[23] basing the use of the address on its previous use in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer.