8 Canada Square Trades for Record $2.2B

LONDON-Touted as Britain’s priciest single-asset disposition to date, a Canary Wharf office tower has been purchased by European property company Metrovacesa SA in a sale-leaseback with HSBC Holdings, the global bank headquartered in the 1.1-million sf building. Valued at $1.1 billion British pounds ($2.2 billion), the sale of 8 Canada Square is expected to close by mid-year.

“We are delighted to have reached agreement with HSBC on this landmark deal,” says Metrovacesa principal Jesus Garcia de Ponga, calling the transaction “evidence of our commitment to establish a significant presence in major cities such as London” on a crusade to become a leading international real estate investor. HSBC has leased the building for 20 years at an annual rate of $43.5 million British pounds ($87 million), and has an option to extend the occupancy an additional five years. The commitment should underscore HSBC’s belief in London as a global financial center, says COO David Hodgkinson, who calls the city “one of the great crossroads.”

“There is no better place for HSBC, the world’s local bank, to be headquartered,” he says. The sale of the tower to Metrovacesa will allow HSBC to manage its assets more effectively, Hodgkinson explains, and is not a signal of wanderlust for a financial services institution already operating in 82 countries and territories.