Land Securities and US group Tishman Speyer were this week going head to head to buy London’s landmark Shell-Mex House.

LandSecs is looking to increase its exposure in the Strand area, while Tishman’s Jerry Speyer is renowned for collecting trophy assets.

However, at £470m-£480m, the price being bid is some way off the £520m that owners the Tchenguiz brothers and Jack Dellal were hoping to achieve.