Trouble at the top as Kuwait sues over plans to build new City skyscraper that is taller than its building

By DAILY MAIL CITY & FINANCE REPORTER

Updated: 22:01 BST, 22 April 2025

The owner of one of the City of London’s most iconic skyscrapers is suing over plans to build another, taller building close by, claiming it will obstruct the light.

Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund owns the Willis Building, a 28-floor tower in the heart of the financial district designed by renowned British architects Foster + Partners that was completed in 2008.

The fund has filed a lawsuit against French group Axa Investment Managers over plans for a larger, 36-storey tower nearby at 50 Fenchurch Street.

The case, originally filed by a Kuwaiti investment vehicle in November, claims that the new development will ‘materially reduce the light enjoyed by the Willis Building’.

It added that this light blockage would amount to ‘substantial interference with the ordinary enjoyment of the Willis Building and

constitute a nuisance’. A defence to the claim has yet to be filed.

Tall order: How the new tower at 50 Fenchurch Street, being built by French group Axa Investment Managers, will look 

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Trouble at the top as Kuwait sues over plans to build new City skyscraper that is taller than its building

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