Private Equity Firm Linked to Bill Clinton, Tony Blair Set to Grow
By Daniel Edward Rosen April 24, 2012 8:30 am
reprintsGlobal private equity firm Teneo Holdings, which counts former US President Bill Clinton and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as advisors, will double the size of its office space by taking a total of 30,206 square feet at 601 Lexington Avenue, The Commercial Observer has learned.
The firm will be moving from its 15,000-square-foot office on the 55th floor to its new turnkey office on the 45th floor inside the former Citigroup (C) Center building, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
Teneo Holdings will be subleasing the space from hedge fund Citadel Investment Group. Asking rents in the building are $89 per square foot, according to CoStar (CSGP). The lease is for 5-years. The building is owned by Boston Properties (BXP).
Matthew McBride of CBRE (CBRE) represented Teneo Holdings in the lease transaction. John Nugent and Sam Seiler, both of CBRE, represented Citadel.
Calls to Mssrs. Nugent, Seiler, and McBride were not returned.
Teneo Holdings is citing a recent hiring binge for its reasons for expanding, said the source.
A Teneo Holdings spokesperson did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Citadel expanded to 165,000 square feet inside 601 Lexington back in March 2011, taking three floors that were formerly occupied by General Motors.
But Citadel was reportedly looking to offload some of its office space following the sale of its investment banking unit to Wells Fargo (WFC) in August 2011.
It had put the 48th floor space, sized at 30,500 square feet for 100 trading positions, on the market, according to a November Absolute Return + Alpha article.
Teneo Holdings is led by Declan Kennedy, who served as the U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland at the U.S. Department of State. The firm also counts Douglas Band, the Counselor to former President Bill Clinton, as a member of its senior leadership team.
Both President Clinton and former Prime Minister Blair serve on the firm’s advisory board.
