HSBC nets £772.5million from sale of Wharf HQ
HSBC has bucked the property market trend by selling its Canary Wharf headquarters in a £772.5million deal.
The bank's Canada Square tower has been sold to the South Korean National Pension Service, although HSBC will remain as tenants.
The cash deal will see HSBC net £350million, adding to the liquidity that has helped it prosper during the credit crunch while other banks have floundered.
HSBC will remain as tenants for at least the next 18 years, paying rent of around £46million a year.
Ken Harvey, HSBC's chief technology and services officer, said: "We actively manage our global real estate portfolio in accordance with the needs of our businesses and in the interests of our shareholders, and we are delighted the National Pension Service of Korea, one of Asia's largest sovereign investors, will be our new landlord."
It's a similar deal to the one HSBC struck two-and-a-half years ago with Spanish property firm Metrovacesa, when they sold the Lord Foster-designed building for £1.1billion in the UK's largest-ever property deal.
But Metrovacesa got into financial trouble and HSBC bought the building back last year for £840million.
Other Wharf-based institutions, including Credit Suisse, are thought to be contemplating similar deals to boost their balance sheets.
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