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Burges Salmon to expand HQ at Mapletree’s One Glass Wharf in Bristol city centre’s largest-ever office letting

Picture of Roger Bull
By Roger Bull
7 Jan 2026 5 min read

We have committed to extending and renewing the lease of our Bristol headquarters in what is the largest office letting ever completed in the city centre.

We have agreed with building owner, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd (‘Mapletree’), to take up the entire building at One Glass Wharf – 216,172 sq. ft of Grade A workspace – until 2045. This new deal will provide us with significant flexibility to support our future growth ambitions. As part of the deal, Mapletree will undertake a multi-million-pound refurbishment of One Glass Wharf, with the refurbishment and upgrade works set to deliver significant sustainability and environmental enhancements and major improvements to the building’s management systems and amenities.

The improvement works, which will start later this year, will support the delivery of our Carbon Reduction Plan, which is already seeing us deliver on our environmental pledges and ambitions through a combination of continued science-based carbon reduction targets, efficiency gains and investment in high-quality carbon offsetting projects, including a focus on biodiversity.

With its distinctive terracotta, zinc and glass façade and prominent position on the waterfront, One Glass Wharf – our HQ since 2010 – has become a recognisable landmark within Bristol’s cityscape. Committing to remain in the building until 2045 marks the latest chapter in our ongoing growth journey. We are also delivering further expansion across our office network, with existing projects in both Edinburgh and London on track to double our footprint in both locations during the first half of 2026, which will include new high-spec client suites and seminar spaces. This reflects our commitment to investing in our people, places and infrastructure to support our clients and advance our responsible business priorities.

With offices in Bristol, London and Edinburgh, we are recognised as one of the strongest performers in the UK legal sector, having secured the title of 2025 UK Firm of the Year at the Legal Business Awards. We were praised for our outstanding financial performance, our enduring client partnerships, the high-profile work we are engaged in, our award-winning workplace culture and commitment to responsible business.

“Our decision to extend our occupation at One Glass Wharf until 2045 reflects the growing demand for ‘offices of the future’ as businesses rethink how they bring people together. Alongside our existing projects in Edinburgh and London, the deal we have struck in Bristol with Mapletree demonstrates our belief that collaborative working is most productive for both our clients and our people, and we are expanding our office HQ to support the future success of our firm.

Our office isn’t just bricks and mortar – it is a core part of how we create a healthy, inclusive and supportive workplace culture across the firm. We’re proud to be a major employer in Bristol and One Glass Wharf is a unique ecosystem where our people enjoy spending time, with spaces designed to champion wellbeing, innovation and connection, support hybrid working and help our community engagement initiatives. The extensive upgrade will deliver an even better working environment for all who experience it, strengthening the firm’s culture of collaboration and high-quality client service.”

Roger Bull, Managing Partner

“One Glass Wharf offers a space that is truly fit for the future. Its strong green credentials align closely with the ambitions of our Carbon Reduction Plan, ensuring we continue to invest in spaces and technologies that support our sustainability goals while delivering the best possible experience for our people and clients.

We are also making significant, forward‑looking investments across our London and Edinburgh offices to create flexible, tech‑enabled, low‑carbon environments. From upgraded collaboration hubs and inclusive, wellbeing‑led design to smarter building systems and enhanced client suites, our workspaces support how our people deliver outstanding service. This is about future‑proofing our spaces so we can continue to reduce emissions, attract talent, and give clients a consistently excellent experience across our network.”

Emma Dowden, Chief Operating Officer

“This deal demonstrates the remarkable benefits of finding alignment between owners and occupiers of office buildings. The regear at One Glass Wharf allows us not only to invest in future-proofing the building through comprehensive upgrades to its operational sustainability, sense of arrival and staff amenity, but also to retain the embodied carbon in the existing building.

The close collaboration between Burges Salmon and Mapletree when designing the upgrades and specifying the works means that our investment will deliver a headquarters that Burges Salmon can be proud to call home for years to come, as the firm continues to flourish.”

Rory Carson, Director, Asset Management for UK & Ireland, Mapletree

We were advised by Savills and Mapletree by JLL.