Whilst we normally speak about buildings with great heritage and history that have been transformed to provide premium office space for the modern world, we thought that we should make an exception for The Shard. Clearly a modern development, The Shard stands dominantly in the historically significant London Bridge district on the southern bank of the Thames. Opened to the public in 2013, The Shard was recognised as the tallest building in the UK and Europe and as a new emblem for London. Today, the striking and iconic building is home to apartments, restaurants, the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a viewing platform, and a 26-floor office complex. Some of these can be seen here - Prestige Offices in The Shard This podcast celebrates the area in which the tower is situated, the unique development and the exceptional modern offices that are available to rent within it.

The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in the 16th century, in 1565, by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the City. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who still jointly own the freehold interest of this landmark. It was London’s first purpose-built centre for trading stocks and was modelled on the Bourse in Antwerp - the world’s oldest financial exchange, where Gresham had been based as a royal agent. So, who was Thomas Gresham? Known as the father of English banking, Sir Thomas Gresham the Elder was born in 1519 and was an English merchant and financier who acted on behalf of King Edward VI and Edward's half-sisters - queens Mary I and Elizabeth I. He was born in London and descended from an old Norfolk family, he was the son of Sir Richard Gresham, a leading merchant mercer and Lord Mayor of London, who was knighted by King Henry VIII for negotiating favourable loans with foreign merchants. Gresham was educated at St Paul's School in the City. Following this, he attended the University of Cambridge and was concurrently apprenticed in the Mercers' Company. In 1543 the Mercers' Company admitted Gresham as a liveryman, and later that year he left England for the Low Countries basing himself in Antwerp, where he worked as a merchant whilst acting in various matters as agent for King Henry VIII. In 1551, following some financial mismanagement by the government, Gresham was called upon for his advice and, through some methods that he thought up that would have been seen as somewhat questionable by today’s standards, raised the value of the pound on the Antwerp bourse and subsequently “rescued the pound” for which he was rewarded in various ways by King Edward VI. On the accession of Queen Mary in 1553, Gresham was replaced as advisor by Alderman William Dauntsey. However, Dauntsey's financial operations proved unsuccessful and Gresham was soon re-instated. He professed his desire to serve the Queen, and manifested great adroitness both in negotiating loans and in smuggling money, arms and foreign goods. Not only were his services retained throughout her reign (1553–1558), but besides his salary of twenty shillings per year, he received grants of church lands to the yearly value of 200 pounds... ...Today, businesses from a wide range of sectors can occupy office space at the Royal Exchange – aptly named office provider, Landmark, that was founded in 2000, provides a range of workspace options including private offices, collaborative spaces and meeting rooms. And, on Gresham Street, which was named in 1845, office space provider, The Argyll Club, that was founded in 1998, provides premium flexible office spaces for companies needing space for between 2 and 50 desks. Occupiers here will be neighbours of modern-day business icons such as Eversheds, ING Bank and Investec. Both of these properties with links to Thomas Gresham can be viewed on the link: Prestige Offices – Offices in London with links to Thomas Gresham  Gresham’s legacy can, today, be directly experienced through the buildings that have been modernised to provide office space for the businesses of the modern world. He had commercial property interests in the City and was a pioneer in many areas but he could have never imagined the areas that modern businesses operate in or the business technology used, although he may have possibly imagined the arrangement of several companies operating within one office, as they do within the serviced offices in the Royal Exchange and those on Gresham Street and throughout London  – a format not dissimilar to that used by the Royal Exchange's loyal tenant, Lloyd’s of London.

In the area surrounding Chancery Lane Tube station, there is a large cluster of some of London’s most important properties. Indeed, on the map of the area on the Historic England website, it appears that there are almost as many listed buildings as those that are not listed. One of those properties is No.25 Southampton Buildings and this sits in the heart of the Chancery Lane Conservation Area. This area covers just over 6 hectares of the Ward of Farringdon Without and serves to protect the unique architecture within it. Southampton Buildings is one of those properties and has a rich history that dates back centuries. In 1144, the Knights Templar were established in Holborn, on a site to the northern end of what was later to become Chancery Lane. In recent times, archaeological works located the first Knights Templar church at the junction of where Southampton Buildings sits today and High Holborn. The site of the Templar hall and chapel remained in place and varied in ownership until the early 17th century when it was redeveloped by the Earl of Southampton, and the site was named Southampton Buildings. In the mid-17th century, it was then redeveloped into private tenements and was actually the location of one of the earliest coffee-houses of London, with records dating it to 1650. In 1823, Dr Birkbeck founded the Mechanics’ Institution in Southampton Buildings, which later became the London Mechanics’ Institution, and the building was used as a theatre for delivering the lectures of the professors. The London Mechanics’ Institution, the forerunner of Birkbeck College, which is now a part of the University of London, was headquartered at Southampton Buildings until 1884. This part of London, today known as Midtown, is now actually referred to as London’s ‘Seat of Learning’ because it is now home of the London School of Economics (LSE) and University College London (UCL), as well as the British Museum and Inns of Court. The London Patent Office Library was established within Southampton Buildings in 1899 and, in 1902, the headquarter offices of the London Patent Office were established in the building, where it stayed until 1991. The unique commercial property became Grade II* listed in 1989 to conserve its impressive neo-Elizabethan architecture. The listing highlights the range of features from elaborate railings, Flemish gables, Corinthian columns, Doric pilasters and decorative panels used in the library, reading rooms, arbitration rooms and the courts. Today, you will find luxury office space within the fabric of this beautiful commercial property, specifically within the area of the property known as Central Court. Details of these offices can be found on the Prestige Offices website. It is within these, that modern businesses have the opportunity to create their own history within this iconic building.