Trilogy and LaSalle complete The Amp: A new education and innovation campus in East London
In less than 12 months, Trilogy and LaSalle have completed a major refurbishment of a 135,000 sq ft former London Metropolitan University building at 41-71 Commercial Road in Aldgate
The building was acquired with pre-lets totalling 55,000 sq ft to two education institutions: Nottingham Trent University’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies and Access Creative College
Demand for the building has seen a further pre-completion letting of 37,000 sq ft the London College of Contemporary Arts, bringing the building up to 66% occupation.
The Amp delivers high-quality facilities for colleges, universities and businesses in the Aldgate and Whitechapel neighbourhood, which is fast becoming a hub for education and innovation.
Trilogy Real Estate and LaSalle Investment Management have completed the 135,000 sq ft refurbishment of The Amp, a new campus for education and innovation in the Aldgate district of the London borough of Tower Hamlets. 40% of the building will be immediately occupied by two pre-let tenants: Nottingham Trent University’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies and Access Creative College.
Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies
A further two floors of the building have been let to the London College of Creative Arts (LCCA), bringing the building up to 66% occupation ahead of completion. Allsop advised Trilogy during the leasing to LCCA, and Mark Kleinman at James Andrew International acted for LCCA.
The construction project to transform the buildings at 41-71 Commercial Road was completed in under a year to meet the operational requirements of the education occupiers, who needed an opening date in September 2023. The Amp provides space for education and innovation in a well-connected location, with one foot in central London and the other in the dynamic creative scene in the East of the city. Specialist on-site facilities include recording studios, performance space and an arena for gaming and esports.
The Amp reprises Trilogy’s successful partnership with LaSalle Investment Management, which has previously resulted in the transformation of Republic London from a dated office and disaster recovery space to a thriving education campus with over 15,000 students attending six universities and private education providers. The next phase of Republic London was granted planning consent in October 2023 and will also include 715 rooms of purpose-built student accommodation and a state-of-the-art data centre, adding an infrastructure component to this mixed-use development and creating a new kind of urban campus centred on innovation, higher education and accommodation.
Robert Wolstenholme, Founder and CEO of Trilogy Real Estate, said:
“The Amp is the latest example of our strategy to develop the best innovation campuses in the country. Focused on breathing new life into unloved buildings in our city centres and high streets, our goal is well-connected hubs for universities and colleges that offer easier access and more choice for students. Our buildings create opportunities to collaborate and even co-locate with industry, business, the local community and the third sector.
Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies
“The Amp has been an ambitious project to take on – we were blessed with a building with good bones, but which needed total modernisation with a 12-month turnaround. It’s testament to the skill of the team and our contractors and designers that the result belies the huge effort that has gone into getting it into tip-top condition in time and on budget. Huge amounts of work have gone into delivering a stunning, bespoke space for our occupiers and, in turn, the students that will be beginning their professional careers in this inspiring and uplifting place.”
Chris Lewis, Managing Director, LaSalle Value-Add Investments, said:
"The Amp is a great example of our venture with Trilogy, which is creating exciting new urban higher education assets to meet the increased demand from universities in gateway cities. 66% of the space has already been leased prior to completion, reinforcing The Amp’s offering as a thriving education and innovation campus."
"It is part of LaSalle's broader European value-add strategy, bridging the gap between infrastructure and real estate, with a focus on new economy sectors including urban accommodation, student housing, private medical facilities, distribution and data centres."
Craig Chettle, CEO of Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, said:
“The decision to take a pre-let at The Amp, with such a tight programme to delivery in September 2023, did present a significant challenge for us, but this was more than offset by the potential reward on offer. What has been delivered is a fully bespoke environment for our university courses in a fantastic location for our staff and students, supported by Trilogy’s focus on creating a campus for education that is more than the sum of its parts.
“We’re delighted to be here in the heart of one of East London’s great creative communities. At Confetti, we train our students for a career in the creative and entertainment industries, and being in Aldgate means there’s no shortage of opportunities for students to gain hands-on ‘Do It For Real’ experience. This, combined with the very best technology, studios, equipment and industry-connected tutors, means that students have access to the highest standard of specialist creative higher education.
The Amp was acquired by Trilogy and LaSalle from the Department for Education in a sale facilitated by the government-owned property company, LocatED, in the summer of 2022.
The partnership was advised on the acquisition by strategic real estate consultancy Kauffmans, which also acted to structure the pre-leasing agreement for Access Creative College and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies during the negotiations to acquire the building.
41-71 Commercial Road was originally built in 1971 as the London College of Furniture. The college operated until 1992, when it was taken over by London Metropolitan University, and the building was vacated in 2016 when the university rationalised its estate.
Work on the seven-floor refurbishment began in October 2023, led by main contractor Oktra, Project Manager Quartz Project Services, Architect Hawkins\Brown and Civic Engineers.
The completed building provides flexible, open floorplate space tailored to the needs of universities and colleges, as well as business and industry partners that may look to co-locate with a university to access the talent of the future and provide facilities for research and industry innovation. The Aldgate and Whitechapel area is already well established as a community for higher education, as well as being one of Central London’s youngest and fastest growing neighbourhoods, with a major life sciences cluster planned for the site of the former Royal London Hospital Buildings to the north of The Amp.
Student lifestyles are supported by a strong local offer that includes plentiful PBSA, nightlife, leisure and food & drink options, excellent transport connectivity and proximity to London’s cultural attractions. The Amp’s location on a well-connected city-centre high street also makes it an attractive choice for mature students or students who wish to live in their family home during their studies.
Both Access Creative College and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies have a large welcome space on the ground floor of the building, with full height glazing and their own entrances onto Commercial Road that create a highly visible public “shopfront” that encourages public interaction. Bespoke fitouts for each occupier have been completed as part of the refurbishment works, with specialist facilities including recording studios prepared for the start of the academic year.
To the rear of The Amp, the former Met Works building, a warehouse extension built in the 2000s, has been converted into an auditorium space for Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies. This auditorium will allow the Institute to host live music, comedy, spoken word, esports, screenings and more. Access Creative College will operate a music venue within their space, providing opportunities for students within the college to use their skills within a live environment.
The sustainability and energy performance of the building has been substantially upgraded, with an all-electric heating and cooling system that ensures no fossil fuels are burned on site. All new glazing and upgraded energy performance means that the refurbished building is fully compliant with the requirements of Part L and is rated BREEAM Excellent with WiredScore Platinum and an EPC “B” rating.