25 Old Broad Street facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tower 42
Tower 42 is the third-tallest building in the City of London
Former names	National Westminster Tower; International Financial Centre
General information
Type	Commercial
Location	25 Old Broad Street, London
Construction started	1971
Completed	1980
Height
Roof	183 metres (600 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	47
Lifts/elevators	21
Design and construction
Architect	R Siefert & Partners
Structural engineer	Pell Frischmann
Main contractor	John Mowlem & Co Ltd

Tower 42 is the third-tallest skyscraper in the City of London and the eighth tallest in Greater London. Its original name was the National Westminster Tower, having been built to house the National Westminster Bank's international division. Seen from above, the shape of the tower resembles that of the NatWest logo (three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement).

The tower, designed by Richard Seifert and engineered by Pell Frischmann, is located at 25 Old Broad Street. It was built by John Mowlem & Co between 1971 and 1980, first occupied in 1980, and formally opened on 11 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II.

The construction cost was £72 million (approximately £222 million today).2018 It is 183 metres (600 ft) high, which made it the tallest building in the United Kingdom until the topping out of One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990. It held the status of tallest building in the City of London for 30 years, until it was surpassed by the Heron Tower in December 2009.

The building today is multi-tenanted and comprises Grade A office space and restaurant facilities, with one restaurant situated on the 24th floor, and the other, a champagne and seafood bar, on the 42nd floor. In 2011 it was bought by the South African businessman Nathan Kirsh for £282.5 million.

Tenants

Adjusting Services International Andrew Milne Ansoroy Apttus Arnold Porter Kaye Scholer Black Swan Capital Boston Technologies Bracewell UK Castle Trust CEBS Secretariat ClassNK Cooper Parry Corporate Communications Coriolis Crowell & Moring CSJ Capital Partners Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira Daewoo Securities Davis & Co Dialight Eseclending Europe European Banking Authority Fenchurch Advisory Partners Fiber Telecom Front Capital Systems Glennmont Partners Goblin Computing GPQS Haarmann Hemmelrath Holland & Knight Industrial Bank of Korea Integral Development Corporation I3 Resourcing ITI Capital Jenner Block Kobre Kim Majedie Investments McCann Fitzgerald Meditor Capital Management

Mizrahi Bank Momenta Group Natixis Nik Hurst NMG Financial Consulting Noerr Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Ostro Capital Management Paragon Bank Pensions Management Institute Pepper Hamilton Per Ardua Associates Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Piraeus Bank Portico Corporate Project Brokers Quantbot Technologies Quantitative Risk Management Raiffeisen Bank Reinsurance Group of America RGM Networks Samsung Sanders Wilkinson Krajcirovic Nikolayev & partners Shook, Hardy & Bacon International Software Strickland Tucker Sullivan Worcester System Access Taylor Vinters Telemetry Tower Trading Group TP ICAP Vadar Moss Varo Partners ViewSonic Williams Lea Tag

Images for kids

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  The tower's shape has been compared to that of the logo for NatWest, although its architect Richard Seifert always denied the similarity.

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  NatWest Tower during construction, viewed from Bank junction, c. 1974

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  National Westminster Tower entrance forecourt in 1981

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  East-facing view from Vertigo 42

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  Night view showing lighting display

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  Tower 42 viewed from directly below

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  Advertisement for annual charity event at Tower 42, City of London, January, 2020