Kier builds London retrofit pipeline with £60m Holborn office transformation. Kier is set to deliver a major £60 million office retrofit in London's Holborn district after being selected as preferred contractor for Railpen's transformation of 26 Red Lion Square. The contractor is entering into a pre-construction services agreement for the 100,000 sq ft development, known as The Fenner, ahead of a planned start on site later this year. Designed by Stiff + Trevillion, the extensive refurbishment will transform the existing building into eight floors of Grade A workspace, with construction expected to take around two years. Rather than pursuing wholesale redevelopment, the project will retain and reuse significant elements of the existing structure, combining this approach with substantial architectural and environmental upgrades. Plans include new façades addressing both Theobalds Road and Red Lion Square, alongside enhanced ground-floor amenities intended to improve the arrival experience and provide modern facilities for occupiers. More than 9,000 sq ft of roof terraces will also be introduced, adding external amenity space to the building and helping reposition the property for the next generation of central London office occupiers. Sustainability and operational performance are central to the redevelopment. Railpen is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, EPC A and a NABERS 5-star rating for The Fenner, placing ambitious environmental objectives at the heart of the refurbishment programme. Five contractors competed for the project, with Kier ultimately selected on the strength of its proposed team and experience delivering complex office schemes within central London. 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 appointment further strengthens Kier's growing workload in London's commercial refurbishment and retrofit market. It follows the contractor securing Derwent London's £99 million redevelopment of Holden House on Oxford Street, as well as The Crown Estate's transformation of the Grade II-listed 10 Piccadilly, comprising approximately 90,800 sq ft. Together, the projects underline the increasing importance of retrofit within the capital's office construction market as property owners look to modernise existing assets while retaining valuable structures and improving energy performance. The Fenner is also part of a much larger investment programme being undertaken by Railpen, encompassing around 600,000 sq ft of commercial refurbishment and development across London and Birmingham. With new façades, upgraded amenities, substantial roof terraces and ambitious environmental targets, the £60 million Holborn project will see an existing central London office asset comprehensively repositioned without sacrificing the embodied value of its underlying structure. For Kier, the scheme represents another significant addition to a growing portfolio of high-value retrofit projects as the transformation of existing buildings continues to become an increasingly important part of the UK commercial construction market.

Kier chosen in PCSA for £50m Holborn office refurbishment. Kier has been selected as preferred contractor for Railpen's £50m refurbishment of The Fenner office development in Holborn, central London. The contractor entered a preconstruction services agreement (PCSA) with Railpen ahead of a planned site start in the fourth quarter of 2026. The main construction job will be worth £50m, according to data provider Glenigan. Practical completion was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2028. The scheme at Red Lion Square will provide about 9,290 square metres of office space across eight floors. Railpen, which manages about £36bn of UK railway pension assets, is the client. Stiff + Trevillion is the architect. Related questions you can explore with Ask Construction News, our new AI search engine. The refurbishment will include new facades to Theobalds Road and Red Lion Square, alongside upgraded ground-floor amenities and food and beverage units. Plans also include about 836 square metres of roof terraces overlooking St Paul's Cathedral and the West End. Railpen said the project was targeting BREEAM Outstanding, an EPC A rating and a five-star NABERS rating. The client added that the construction phase would be net zero carbon and would make extensive use of retained and reused building materials. It gave an upfront embodied-carbon figure of 429kg CO[2] per square metre. Railpen development director Parminder Singh said Kier "stood out during a very competitive tender process" involving bids from four other contractors. He said the winning contractor has "the skills and experience required to deliver the best buildings for our occupiers". Kier Construction London & Thames Valley regional director Graham Potts said the agreement added to the contractor's commercial retrofit and repurposing workload. He said: "Railpen is a new and significant client for Kier." Railpen said it had about 279,000 square metres of property either under construction or with consent. Recent projects included refurbishments at 101 Bayham in Camden and 4 Coleman Street in the City of London. Railpen also has consent for the redevelopment of 12 Smithfield.

UK pension funds launch £1bn scale-up investment drive. By Waverly Drummond September 18, 2026 Nest, Railpen, and three Local Government Pension Scheme pools have announced plans to combine resources for a £1 billion fund dedicated to supporting UK businesses at the scaling stage, following a government statement on July 27. The move represents an effort to redirect pension investments away from overseas markets - particularly the US - and toward domestic companies in science and technology sectors. The British Business Bank will assist in matching investors with suitable opportunities. Prime Minister Andy Burnham positioned the initiative as part of broader economic strategies to "reindustrialise Britain" by tying pension capital to job creation and entrepreneurial growth. Chancellor John Healey stressed the importance of retaining economic activity within the UK, framing the fund as a tool to make the country a leading destination for business expansion. The announcement follows years of advocacy from pension funds for a dedicated scale-up vehicle. Railpen, which oversees £34 billion in assets, has long pushed for such a fund. In December, its head of UK productive assets, Julia Diez, identified key obstacles in the UK's venture and growth equity markets, including persistent illiquidity and insufficient long-term funding. She noted that the sector's fragmentation made it difficult for domestic companies to access consistent support from local investors. The new initiative aims to address these gaps by consolidating institutional capital. Nest, the UK's largest workplace pension provider, confirmed earlier this month that it would allocate up to £1 billion to venture capital strategies through a partnership with Schroders Capital. The three participating LGPS pools, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Local Pensions Partnership Investments, and LGPS Central, will collaborate with Nest and Railpen to formalise the fund's structure. Secretary of State Jonathan Reynolds, leading the newly formed Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, described pension schemes as key drivers of long-term economic growth, particularly if investments align with savers' interests. However, industry experts have raised concerns about potential risks. Elisabeth Storey, head of pensions at RSM UK, warned that trustees must carefully balance growth-oriented allocations with their fiduciary responsibilities. She emphasised the need for robust governance, expert oversight, and a clear investment rationale to justify increased exposure to scaling businesses. Despite these cautions, industry leaders have expressed optimism. Michael Moore, CEO of UK Private Capital, praised the fund as a step toward filling a long-standing capital gap in UK markets. He encouraged more defined-contribution pension schemes to participate in venture and growth funds. Executives from the participating funds echoed this sentiment, highlighting the potential to align financial returns with broader economic benefits. The UK's venture capital sector has historically depended on foreign investment, particularly from the US, to fund its most promising startups. While the country produces innovative companies, many struggle to secure the long-term capital needed to expand domestically. If successful, this fund could reverse that trend by channeling institutional capital into early-stage and growth-phase businesses. The primary challenge will be ensuring the governance and expertise exist to justify the risks to pension savers.