A state-owned Chinese insurance company is involved in discussions to buy the headquarters of the Clifford Chance law firm. This development is further evidence that London’s commercial property market is firing on all cylinders.
Funds controlled by China Life, the country’s largest insurer by market value, are in what has been described as “advanced discussions” about a potential deal to purchase 10 Upper Bank Street, a 30-storey property in Canary Wharf. While the talks are still ongoing, the building’s current owner, Canary Wharf Group is confident that a sale will be completed within the next few weeks.
According to insiders, the site could be valued at approximately £780m. This figure is consistent with the most recent external valuation which was conducted earlier this year. A price tag at this level would make this transaction one of the largest in London’s commercial property market in 2014.
Last year, another Chinese investor, Ping An, bought the Lloyd’s of London building, in a £260m deal. Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have been among the most active investors in London, reflecting its status as a global property hot-spot.
HSBC’s Canary Wharf headquarters is also for sale. Property experts are anticipating that the sale will bring in more than the £1.1bn selling price when it last changed hands in 2007.
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