Canary Wharf: Property value falls as London banking hub secures £550m financing deal
The developer and manager of Canary Wharf in East London has reported a 14.7 per cent annual fall in the value of its property holdings to £6.8bn.
Profit before tax also declined from £39.9m to £27m, marking the third year since the pandemic where this figure slipped.
Canary Wharf Group, which is owned by Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority, has been challenged in recent years by the departure of star tenants such as HSBC.
Commercial property values have also been bruised by rising interest rates and fears about the health of the office market as hybrid working trends linger post-pandemic.
On Thursday, the business behind the docklands banking hub also announced a £553m financing deal.
It secured £341m on 25 Churchill Place, the home of accountancy firm EY and European Medicines Agency, until July 2030.
Additionally, it also bagged a £80m loan for the construction of two new serviced apartment buildings for short and medium stays in the Wharf for the first time at 3 & 15 West Lane.
Becky Worthington, chief financial officer of CWG, said: “These loans are testament to the strength of our assets, the transformation that has been taking place at Canary Wharf and the support we have from our lenders for our long-term plan.
“We are winning awards in our residential portfolio, attracting millions of visitors to the amenities within our mixed-use neighbourhood, and continuing to develop high quality, sustainable assets.”
He added: “With the opening of Middle Dock later this year, our exciting joint venture with the Eden Project, Canary Wharf will become an even more attractive environment to live and work.”
The region, synonymous with finance and banking groups, has been working to reposition itself as a seven-day week operation and welcome other trades such as life science.
CWG owners injected around £400m into the company back in October to fuel its regeneration and focus on becoming a more residential area.
A taxpayer loan of over £118m was handed to Canary Wharf to help elevate its life science offering and build new homes, during the Spring Budget.