Sullivan & Cromwell has appointed real estate adviser Newmark to lead a search for up to 160,000 square feet of central London office space, a move that would more than double the firm’s current City presence and marks one of the most significant expansion signals from an American firm in the capital this year.
The New York-headquartered firm currently occupies approximately 75,000 square feet at 1-9 New Fetter Lane, its second-largest office globally, serving corporate, financial institution, private equity and sovereign wealth clients across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.
The scale of the requirement, more than double its existing footprint, places Sullivan & Cromwell among the most ambitious movers in a London office market that has seen sustained and accelerating demand from international legal practices.
That demand is now quantified in striking terms. Law firms leased 828,450 square feet of London offices in 2025, a 13.3% increase on 2024, according to data published by Knight Frank. Of 19 transactions completed last year by legal sector occupiers for spaces exceeding 10,000 square feet, 15 were expansionary rather than consolidating moves.
American firms have been the primary engine of that growth, accounting for five of the top legal sector deals over 100,000 square feet completed in the past five years — a figure that rises to eight when dual-headquartered and recently merged firms are included.
Sullivan & Cromwell’s search follows a pattern established by several of its Am Law peers. Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis have both completed major London relocations in recent years, with highly competitive associate salary structures and premium headquarters cited as central to their UK talent acquisition strategies.
McDermott Will & Schulte relocated from approximately 20,000 square feet at 22 Bishopsgate to 115,000 square feet at The Lazari Building on Brook Street in Mayfair, signalling that West End locations are becoming a credible alternative to the traditional City Core for practices seeking a differentiated profile.
UK firm management will note that the Sullivan & Cromwell announcement adds pressure on multiple fronts simultaneously. Prime City space is being absorbed at pace, which carries implications for any firm in or approaching a lease event. The talent dimension is equally direct: American firms have demonstrated a consistent willingness to pay above market rates for senior associates and partners, and the expansion of their London platforms increases both the frequency and seniority of lateral approaches to UK-based lawyers.
Silver Circle and Magic Circle practices monitoring the market will note that the supply of Grade A space capable of accommodating requirements of this scale is finite, and that the firms now competing for it are doing so with considerable financial backing.
With Newmark now formally instructed and the search active, the next stage of Sullivan & Cromwell’s London build-out will be watched closely by commercial property advisers, competing firms and the lawyers they are seeking to recruit.