London’s ‘Gherkin’ up for grabs

LONDON : One of the most distinctive buildings in The City financial district of London, the Swiss Re Tower or ‘Gherkin’, has gone up for sale. The 40-storey building, which was given its nickname because of its cylindrical, tapered shape and green tinge, has an asking price of 600m pounds (e891m, $1.1bn), the Financial Times said. Owner the insurance group Swiss Re has appointed agents to help with the sale and a number of approaches have been made already, including from Prudential, the Abu Dhabi royal family and ING, it added.

Officially known as 30 St Mary Axe, the award-winning ‘Gherkin’ was designed by leading British architect Norman Foster and quickly became one of the most recognisable buildings on the London skyline when it was completed in ’04. At 590 feet (180 metres) tall, it was the first skyscraper to be built in The City for 25 years and has also been dubbed “The Towering Innuendo” for its suggestive shape.
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