Content Officer

Activity is being seen in the real estate in Canary Wharf business district once more. The building at 5 Churchill Place has recently been sold in a deal that comes close on the heels of a recent sale of the HSBC headquarters to South Korea’s South National Pension Service. Foreign interest is returning to the London rent a desk market if these deals are any indication.

Songbird has confirmed that its unit operating in Canary Wharf area has finalised the sale of the office building here. The buyers are a private investment partnership based in Bermuda. The sale price is estimated to have been around 200 million pounds.

5 Churchill Place comprises of prime office space spread over 12 floors. The reputed JP Morgan group tenants ten of these floors at a rent of about 41 pounds per square foot. Canary Wharf is to fulfil the rent for the vacant floors of the building in an agreement that was part of the sale deal. They will have to pay about 2.16 million pounds per year for a period of five years towards this, as long as the area remains untenanted.

However, the sale was still profitable by about six percent profit for the sellers. Property analysts believe that as tenancy rates have not yet begun to show much improvement, this may prove a heavy burden for Canary Wharf. However, the fact that this property is considered Grade A office space stands in the Wharf’s favour, as it will most certainly be a preferred spot when conditions improve. Experts agree that the sale price is accurate considering current market conditions.