JP’s Canary

JP Morgan, an American multinational banking and financial services company, has put on hold the sale of a large portion of land in Canary wharf which it bought on a long lease hold interest from the Canary Wharf Group for £237 million back in 2008. 

The site was up for sale through GM Real Estate and Knight Frank at the start of 2015 with 3 parties being shortlisted for the purchase by the summer. However due to a review of the banks occupational requirements and the UK’s improving economic outlook it was decided the land might be better suited as a location for the new JP Morgan Headquarters. JP Morgan is anticipating substantial future growth in London.

These plans however are not new, The Riverside South site was being eyed up for the headquarters before the financial crash but once the economy took a turn for the worse the new headquarters was no longer viable. The site was expected to sell for circa £350 million at the end of the year, with the Canary Wharf Group being one of the contenders. 

The site was granted consent for a much needed 2 million sqft of office space designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, this would have been the largest single office building in London at the time, but instead JP Morgan purchased 1 million sqft at 25 Bank Street for £500 million in 2010. Assuming JP Morgan move forward with the new headquarters they will not need all 2 million sqft and therefore there is an opportunity for a joint venture may arise.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.