Canary Wharf Pre-Sells Leasehold Interest for $493M

LONDON-Accounting firm KPMG has bought the 999-year leasehold interest in 15 Canada Square for euro 387.75 million ($493.16 million). The firm will use the space, which it purchased from Canary Wharf Group, for its new UK headquarters.

CWG will complete construction of the building by April 2009. The 15-story building is located in the heart of the Canary Wharf district, adjacent to the headquarters of HSBC and Barclays Bank. KPMG will consolidate staff from a number of London offices into the building, although it will retain an existing office at Salisbury Square, off Fleet Street in London. “This is an important step to creating an office environment in London for our people and our clients which is an expression of our core values and embraces the changing ways we will work together,” says John Griffith-Jones, UK chairman and senior partner at KPMG. “Since 1992 we have had an increasingly important business presence in Canary Wharf. It seems natural to commit to Canary Wharf as a hub location for our UK business.”