Citypoint (previously known as Britannic House and Britannic Tower) is a building located on Ropemaker Street on the northern fringe of the City of London, the main financial district and historic nucleus of London.
Originally named Britannic House, Citypoint was built in 1967 as a 35-storey, 122-metre (400 ft) tall headquarters for British Petroleum (now BP), becoming the first building in the City of London area to exceed the height of St Paul's Cathedral. The designers were F. Milton Cashmore and H. N. W. Grosvenor.[1] In 1991 British Petroleum moved back to their original headquarters on Finsbury Circus and the building was renamed Britannic Tower.
It was refurbished in 2000, with additional floor space and the height increased to 127 metres (417 ft). The designer for the refurbishment was Sheppard Robson.[2] It was renamed Citypoint after its refurbishment.
Citypoint is the 13th-tallest building in the City and the 63rd-tallest in Greater London.
In August 2005 its owner, Pillar Properties, sold the building for more than £500 million in one of the largest deals ever seen in the City office market.
In early 2007 the building was again put on the market, this time for £650 million, and purchased by Beacon Capital Partners, a private American company. At the time it was the most expensive building sale in the United Kingdom. A few months later, the sale of 8 Canada Square at Canary Wharf eclipsed this when it was sold for over £1 billion.
A number of other large buildings have been constructed nearby, including The Heron, a 36-storey 112-metre (367 ft) residential tower at Milton Court and a 90-metre (295 ft) office tower at Ropemaker Place developed by British Land.
