Lend Lease confirmed the deal today to build a 188,000 sq ft office and retail building, known as the Zig Zag Building, as well as a 12-storey luxury residential block at the site in Victoria Street.

The firm beat Land Securities’ regular builders Sir Robert McAlpine and Mace to secure the 342,000 sq ft scheme.

The Kingsgate project got the green light last year after the Government altered planning rules, which would have prohibited the scheme by double-charging the planning levy for local infrastructure.

Lend Lease Group chief executive officer and managing director, Steve McCann, said the contract award continued the momentum of the construction business in EMEA.

He said: “It follows recent contract wins including the Treviso PFI hospital in Italy, the University of Strathclyde’s £89m Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow City centre and the £70m Cramlington hospital in Northumbria.”