King’s College London has acquired a 50 year lease on Aldwych Quarter, four iconic and recently refurbished buildings, formerly known as the Bush House Complex, located next to its historic Strand Campus.

The Duke of Wellington, Chairman of King’s College London, said: ‘This is a once in a generation opportunity for King’s to acquire on a long lease very high quality and prestigious space. It is particularly appropriate that the former headquarters of the BBC World Service should now be occupied by one of the country’s leading universities. Our campus on the Strand has for too long had inadequate and cramped teaching space. This acquisition of Bush House will transform our original campus, which dates back to 1829.’

President & Principal, Professor Edward Byrne AC, added: ‘This acquisition represents a defining moment in the history of King’s, securing the university’s standing for the next 50 years and beyond. We aim to consolidate our position as a top 20 global university by providing world class education and research facilities. Acquiring the Aldwych Quarter will create a wonderful and dynamic campus in the heart of London by uniting two prime central London locations, the Aldwych and our historic Strand Campus, to create state of the art education and learning facilities for our students. This development will give King’s much greater flexibility both to expand in line with our ambitions for growth and to minimise disruption as we redevelop and upgrade our existing Strand estate.’

King’s will occupy Bush House and Strand House on a phased basis from September 2016, and adjacent buildings King House and Melbourne House from 2025.

Once King’s takes full occupation of the four main buildings, the Aldwych Quarter will provide approximately 300,000 square feet of additional space for student study and social space, new teaching facilities and academic accommodation.