Minerva House

Redeveloping Minerva House presented significant planning, logistical and commercial challenges. Its proximity to Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral and the Golden Hinde restricted site access, building height and working periods. Moving materials through this busy area required a carefully planned logistics strategy to minimise disruption. Adding three floors while retaining substantial elements of the existing building also demanded close scrutiny of commercial viability, alongside planning conditions relating to the river wall and future river levels.

G&T is providing Cost Management services, assessing the commercial implications of the redevelopment and its complex logistics. Two years of planning informed the use of barges on the River Thames to remove demolition materials and deliver selected components, including precast façade panels. Morrisroe, as demolition and enabling works contractor, has been central to this approach, including the construction of a temporary floating pontoon to support logistics during the soft strip and demolition phase. The strategy required specialist facilities, licences and Port of London Authority approvals. Our cost advice is helping the team evaluate these requirements alongside the wider works, refine the scope and manage programme and commercial risks.

The redevelopment retains more than half of the existing building, including reused piles, substantial substructure and superstructure and over half of the brick façade. River transport has helped reduce reliance on constrained land access, while glass removed by barge was recycled, supporting a circular approach to materials. G&T’s ongoing cost advice is helping balance the benefits of retention and specialist logistics with the scheme’s budget and commercial objectives.