Stanhope selects Mace for Red Lion Court: construction and design notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Stanhope has appointed Mace Construct as main contractor for Red Lion Court, an 11-storey, 249,500 sq ft office tower with two basement levels on a 1.24-acre riverside site between London Bridge and Southwark Bridge, valued at about £450m. Enabling and piling works are already under way next to Borough Yards, with the main construction phase due to start in Q4 2026 and practical completion targeted for early 2029. The Bjarke Ingels Group design includes four river-facing terraces, 719 cycle spaces, 54 showers and 1,000 sq ft of café space, signalling high servicing and amenity loads for structural and MEP coordination.
Technical Brief
- Gross development value of approximately £450m sets a high benchmark for cost planning and risk allowances.
- Stanhope acquired the scheme in September 2025 with Cheyne Capital, indicating forward-funded development and financing complexity.
- Mace has already mobilised for enabling and piling works immediately adjacent to the constrained Borough Yards site.
- Two full basement levels on a riverside plot imply challenging excavation support, groundwater control and tie-in to riverwall assets.
- Location between London Bridge and Southwark Bridge introduces interfaces with existing bridge foundations, buried utilities and Thames Path access.
- Flexible office floorplates totalling 249,500 sq ft will demand careful column grid and core positioning for future subdivision.
- High cyclist provision (719 spaces, 54 showers) drives significant basement plant, drainage and ventilation requirements.
- Appointment of a long-term Stanhope partner (Mace) suggests reliance on established logistics, temporary works and façade delivery strategies for dense South Bank projects.
Our Take
Mace Construct’s role at Red Lion Court comes just ahead of its planned rebrand following Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of the Mace Group consultancy arm, so practitioners should expect the contractor to be trading under a different name for much of the 2025–29 delivery window.
In our database, Mace Construct is also engaged on façade replacement at St Magnus House on Lower Thames Street, signalling that the contractor is consolidating a strong London riverside workload that could give it leverage with specialist trades and supply chains along the Thames corridor.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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