Walkie Talkie: Loss almost doubles to £150m at City of London landmark

The company behind the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building in the City of London saw its operating loss more than double to almost £150m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.

The firm behind the building in 20 Fenchurch Street has posted an operating loss of £148.7m for 2023, after also reporting a loss of £69m in 2022.

According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, its total loss went from £81.2m to £176.2m in the year.

The company, 20 Fenchurch Street Limited Partnership, reported a revenue from gross property income of £53.4m for 2023, ups from £52.2m.

The firm’s net rental income fell slightly from £38.6m to £38m while it reported a net deficit on the revaluation of investment properties of £184.8m after also making a deficit of £106.2m in 2022.

The ‘Walkie Talkie’ is 38-storeys high and is ultimately owned by Lee Kim Kee Group, a Hong Kong-based food company which manufactures a range of Chinese and Asian sauces.

The group purchased the building for £1.3bn in July 2017.

The ‘Walkie Talkie’ had previously been owned by the Land Securities Group and Canary Wharf Group.

The results come after it was revealed that the City of London’s Sky Garden has become one of the world’s most ticketed destinations.

The Sky Garden, located at the top of the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building was completed in 2014 and has since welcomed 11m visitors, with 1m being over the past year.