Kuwait wealth fund sues over London tower project

• KIA to sue Axa Investment
• ‘Right to light’ dispute
• Plans for 50 Fenchurch Street

Kuwait Investment Authority, the world’s fifth-biggest sovereign wealth fund, is suing global investment company Axa Investment Managers in connection with a planned tower in London’s financial district that risks blocking light to a KIA building.

St Martins Property, the investment authority’s property development unit, is suing Hygie, a special purpose vehicle controlled by Axa Investment Managers, according to court documents seen by AGBI. 

Hygie owns the long leasehold to the proposed 36-storey tower development at 50 Fenchurch Street in the City of London. Nearby is the Willis Building, a 28-storey office complex which St Martins owns.

In the case filed at the UK High Court, St Martins says the Hygie development would “materially reduce the light enjoyed by the Willis” through some of its windows, according to the court documents.

“The said reduction of light … would amount to a substantial interference with the ordinary enjoyment of the Willis Building and constitute a nuisance,” the claim reads.

In the UK, a so-called “right to light” is a legal principle that gives a longstanding – 20 years or more – owner of a building the right to maintain an adequate level of natural light through its windows. 

According to the court documents, St Martins is seeking an injunction compelling Axa to alter the shape and form of the proposed development.

Alternatively, it has requested unspecified damages to compensate for any light obstruction that would arise. 

The KIA manages assets worth more than $1 trillion, according to the US-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Kuwait is the world’s seventh largest oil exporter.

The court case was filed in November. A defence has yet to be submitted.

“We believe these claims are without merit but as a policy we do not comment on potential or ongoing legal proceedings,” said a spokesperson for Axa.

Stephenson Harwood, the law firm acting for St Martin, declined to comment on the case. The KIA did not immediately respond to AGBI’s request for comment. 

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The Willis Building is one of the City of London’s most recognisable skyscrapers, featuring a stepped design across 28 floors and a separate 10-storey building on a neighbouring street. 

It was designed by architect Norman Foster and is the headquarters of insurance broker Willis Towers Watson.

It was one of the tallest towers in the area at the time it was built in 2008, but has since been overtaken by others.

50 Fenchurch Street, designed by Eric Parry Architects, is due to be completed in 2028. 

It is planned to provide office space, including to the Clothworkers’ Company, a City of London professional guild that has occupied the site for over 500 years.