Canary Wharf Offices Lose Nearly £1bn in Value

More than £900mn has been wiped off the value of Canary Wharf Group’s office buildings, as the financial district landlord secured backing from lenders for a £553mn debt deal. The developer and manager of the London docklands estate reported a 14.7 per cent annual fall in the value of its property holdings to £6.8bn in 2023. Independent valuers heavily marked down its office buildings, which make up a majority of the portfolio, to £4.3bn. This has been offset by rising retail values and steady residential assets.

Commercial property values, in general, have been hit by rising interest rates and fears about the health of the office market and Canary Wharf has also been challenged by the departure of key tenants.  As previously reportedpreviously reported the group is working to diversify the estate but, nevertheless, this push to refinance upcoming loans represents a high-profile example of the challenge faced by property owners globally.

The Canary Wharf Group’s chief financial officer, Becky Worthington, speaking to the Financial Times, said the company was negotiating with lenders and reviewing its options for a further £900mn of debt it aims to extend or refinance before the end of the year.  She said, “We have been working on the debt side of the balance sheet, 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”.

Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings, one of the primary entities within the group’s corporate structure, received written confirmation from Brookfield and QIA that the two shareholders would provide financial support as part of the “going concern” analysis in its annual report.