HSBC is planning to ditch its massive Canary Wharf headquarters for a smaller office in the City of London.
The banking giant will up sticks from the 45-floor skyscraper, which has been dubbed the ‘Tower of Doom’ by some staff, towards the end of 2026.
The rise of home working following the pandemic has left swathes of empty desks in offices in towns and cities around the world, including the UK.
With many firms seeking less space, HSBC is aiming to move to Panorama St Paul’s, the redeveloped former offices of telecoms group BT in the Square Mile.
‘Panorama offers a modern office environment in the City, well-connected to major transport links and amenities,’ the bank said.
Downsizing: HSBC is to leave its 45-floor Canary Wharf skyscraper (pictured) - which has been dubbed the tower of doom by staff - towards the end of 2026
HSBC shares rose 0.3 per cent, or 1.9p, to 604.1p.
The decision is a huge blow to Canary Wharf, where HSBC has been based since 2002 when it corralled its retail, business, corporate and investment bankers into the tower from various offices across London, at the cost of nearly £1billion.
Officially known as 8 Canada Square, the towering steel and glass edifice was designed by British architect Norman Foster, the brains behind other notable London landmarks including ‘The Gherkin’ skyscraper in the City.
His company also designed Apple’s sprawling headquarters in California, US.
The HSBC tower houses around 8,000 employees across nearly 1.8m square feet of office space.
The bank’s new site in the City is a 556,000-square- foot premises.
In 2007, HSBC sold the tower to Spanish property firm Metrovacesa in a deal that made it the first building in Britain to fetch more than £1billion.
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The bank bought the property back in 2008 when Metrovacesa faced financing issues during the global recession.
It was then sold in 2009 to a South Korean pension fund before being acquired by its current owner, the Qatari government’s sovereign wealth fund, in 2014.
But the bank’s shift to Panorama comes as firms look to cut back on their real estate costs. The rise of home working means staff are spending less time in the office.
In 2021, the bank’s boss Noel Quinn scrapped an executive floor on the 42nd floor, claiming it was ‘empty half the time’ as HSBC bigwigs frequently criss-crossed the globe to manage its operations.
The news of the move was greeted with elation in the City and touted as a sign of the Square Mile’s ongoing status as a major global financial centre.
‘HSBC’s decision to return here to the heart of the City of London is a huge vote of confidence,’ said Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation.
‘This move further solidifies the City’s reputation as a prime destination for financial services firms. We are confident that HSBC will thrive and find great success.’
But the decision is likely to raise further questions about the future of Canary Wharf as owners – the Qatar Investment Authority and Canadian asset manager Brookfield – look to wean the area off its reliance on major investment banks amid a drought of global dealmaking.
Several projects are being drawn up to broaden its appeal, including plans for an 820,000-square- foot laboratory tower, which is designed to lure life sciences companies to the area.
There are also proposals to build student accommodation and residential flats as well as revamp the Middle Dock area of the site to introduce more green space and leisure areas to attract recreational visitors.
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The banking giant is to move out of 8 Canada Square
8 Canada Square
8 Canada Square (commonly referred to as the HSBC Tower, or the “Tower of Doom” by some HSBC employees) is a 45 floor skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. The building is the global headquarters of the HSBC Holdings.
by 2027 when its current lease expires, after two decades. The move is part of plans to downsize its office space following the Covid-19 pandemic, as the bank says it is now committed to flexible working.
HSBC could have decided to cut costs by moving to a business park on the outskirts of London. But they didn't. Instead, the bank justified the move to be “well-connected to major transport links and amenities” and “a more convenient location for employees”.
Businesses are flocking to more appealing neighbourhoods. It's a trend seen across Europe, with data from Bloomberg last year highlighting how high-rise financial districts have been hit hard by the pandemic while upmarket historic areas, like London's Mayfair and Paris's seventh arrondissem*nt, are booming.
The original Canary Wharf estate has become a poster child for the problems facing office landlords. Aging buildings, the new demands of flexible work and a banking industry upended by the global financial crisis have led to a steady drumbeat of shrinking demand and departing tenants over the past months.
The global bank is due to exit the building, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, in 2027. Parts of the HSBC tower in London's Canary Wharf could reportedly be converted into a hotel once the global bank exits its headquarters in 2027.
HSBC is among the many banks to close bank branches, shutting 114 of its locations in 2023. HSBC said the decline of in-branch banking has accelerated so much since the COVID-19 pandemic that some branches which are set to close serve fewer than 250 customers a week.
The HSBC scandal exposed a significant lapse in the bank's internal controls and corporate governance mechanisms. By allowing billions in illicit funds to move through its accounts, HSBC failed to uphold its corporate responsibility and ethical standards.
Canary Wharf failed as a result of six factors: a recession in the London property market, competition from the City of London, poor transport links, few British tenants, complicated finances and developer overconfidence.
HSBC tower is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) separately from Canary Wharf Group (CWG), which in turn is co-owned by the QIA and Canadian private equity firm Brookfield. Last month, Brookfield put the UK holiday village chain Center Parcs up for sale with a price tag of £4bn to £5bn.
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC. L) , opens new tab has signed an agreement with Canary Wharf Group (CWG) to extend the lease on its British headquarters in the financial district until 2039, CWG said on Thursday.
Considering Canary Wharf is host to a variety of financial giants including Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, J P Morgan, KPMG and Thomson Reuters - with more than 105,000 people working in the area - the natural progression has been for Canary Wharf to evolve as a thriving residential arena where professionals can live, work ...
"This new building and J.P. Morgan's continued presence in the City will reinforce London's pre-eminent position as Europe's leading financial capital," said Michael Snyder, chairman of the City of London Corp.'s policy committee.
HSBC Holdings plc ('HSBC') today announces that it will exit its US domestic mass market retail banking business through several transactions, pending regulatory approval. They include: Exiting 90 branches out of a current branch network of 148 branches.
Shares of HSBC Holdings fell over 3% in Hong Kong on Friday after reports that its top shareholder Ping An Insurance might be looking to cut its stake in the British bank.
The sale follows a strategic review that looked at our relatively low market share in Canada and our ability to invest in HSBC Canada's expansion and growth in the context of opportunities in other markets.
The sale of the mass market credit portfolio and the transactions with Citizens and Cathay are part of a strategy to focus HSBC's U.S. operations on competitive strengthens: connecting global wholesale and wealth management clients to other markets around the world.
In November 2022 HSBC Group agreed to sell its banking operations in Canada (HSBC Canada) to the Royal Bank of Canada(RBC). This sale has been completed on the 28 March 2024. If you have an HSBC Canada account, we want to keep you informed of some of the changes that will result from the sale.
Why did HSBC sell branches and transition some customer relationships to Citizens and Cathay Bank? In 2020, we set out a plan to shift our business strategy in the United States to maximize the connection between our clients and our world-class international network.
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