HSBC HQ sold in record deal commercial mortgages

01 May 2007

HSBC has announced the sale of its Canary Wharf-based headquarters in s record commercial property deal, having sold the prominent London site to a Spanish property group.

The office block has been sold to Spanish company Metrovacesa for £1.09 billion, representing the largest ever single-property deal to be completed in the UK.

Commercial property demand continues to ride high in London as business from the UK and abroad, seek out commercial mortgages and new premises in prominent areas. HSBC''s headquarters housed over one million square feet of office space with room for 8,000 workers.

Its sale follows similar commercial property sales from Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, both of whom have recently sold their London headquarters. It has been speculated that HSBC is set to make some £500 million in profit from the sale, according to the Financial Times.

It has been announces that Metrovacesa will lease the building back for £45.5 million on a 20-year term, including an option to extend for five years.