Xylo Set to Become UK’s Largest All-Timber Frame Office Building

Global Holdings Management Group said it has appointed McLaren Construction to build Xylo, a 9,290 square meter all-timber frame office building in Clerkenwell that will be the largest of its kind in the UK once completed, Built Offsite reported (11-28-25).

The project is positioned to set a new benchmark for low-carbon workplace development in central London. The delivery team includes architects Piercy & Company, project manager Avison Young, Max Fordham as services and sustainability engineers, and Heyne Tillett Steel as structural and civil engineers. Hybrid Structures, part of the William Hare Group, will supply the glulam beams and CLT components, which the developer said will store more than 2,400 tons of carbon dioxide.

Xylo is designed around a 6.5-meter vaulted lobby and will provide nine floors of workspace finished with natural materials and low-VOC products. Plans include a 338 square meter town hall space, a 353 square meter rooftop garden, five landscaped terraces, and a café and restaurant. The timber-first structure allows internal areas to be reconfigured without major intervention.

Global Holdings Management Group said the building is targeting LETI Pioneer, NABERS UK 5.5-star, and BREEAM Excellent ratings. Operational carbon emissions are expected to fall by up to 82%, with embodied carbon projected at 50% below a typical new London office development.

Attention now shifts to the delivery of the timber frame and the technical packages that support the project’s structural and environmental goals.