One of the most notable recent examples of an office downsizing trend that is shaking commercial real estate markets around the world is HSBC's decision to forgo its 45-floor Canary Wharf tower in lieu of a much smaller structure in downtown London.
The largest bank in Europe informed staff on Monday that it intended to vacate the east London financial district tower bearing its name and transfer around 8,000 employees to a newly renovated office complex with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral.
A new wave of layoffs by large businesses coincides with the real estate sector already being under strain from rising financing prices for landlords and developers.
As home working gains popularity following the COVID-19 outbreak and as companies choose to develop greener offices to fulfil stringent environmental goals, businesses throughout the world are abandoning huge office buildings at an unprecedented rate.
According to real estate analysts and experts, the movement has the ability to change cities and is already posing a challenge to the business models of huge office landlords.
"Home working has shrunk the amount of space HSBC need. That won't be unique to them," said Tony Travers, director of the London School of Economics' London research group.
Since the 1980s, Canary Wharf and the City of London, London's main financial district, have fought for firm headquarters. However, Travers noted, competitive rents may tempt businesses that had previously baulked at the expense back to city centres.
According to a poll conducted by real estate brokerage Knight Frank last month, over half of the largest employers in the globe intend to downsize office space over the next three years, typically by 10% to 20%.
Wider markets have been considerably impacted by the cascading consequences of so many businesses cutting back on office space.
According to statistics prepared by law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, real estate topped an index of Europe's most distressed industries for the first quarter of 2023, driven by pressure on valuations, liquidity, and investment.
Given the substantial exposure its residents' households and investors have to the real estate market, Sweden in particular has received attention. For local commercial property companies, high debt levels, rising interest rates, and a faltering economy have created a toxic brew, with some being downgraded to junk status by rating agencies.
The deadline for many companies' green goals, set in response to pressure from investors, environmentalists, and regulators, is another significant reason driving workplace relocations.
"For large businesses, the operational model has to change and the companies need to stand alongside - as far as they are able - the pursuit of green policies," said Gerardine Davies, co-founder of investor Perenna Capital Management.
With a promise to eliminate about 40% of its office space globally, HSBC has one of the most ambitious targets to reduce office space among major employers.
In late 2026, the bank plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to the renovated former BT premises.
According to the project website, the so-called Panorama St. Paul's construction has 556,000 square feet of space, which is roughly half the size of the tower that HSBC is leaving behind, which has 1.1 million square feet.
In 2021, BT itself moved to a new, more compact headquarters in the neighbouring City neighbourhood of Aldgate, housing about 3,500 people and including more adaptable workspaces for hybrid workers.
The timing of HSBC's exit is unfortunate for Canary Wharf since it coincides with uncertainty surrounding Credit Suisse's long-standing position in the Docklands area following its emergency buyout by UBS, which intends to lay off thousands of employees.
The Square Mile financial district's operator, the City of London Corporation, was quick to hail HSBC's change on Monday, describing it as a "huge vote of confidence for the City". The commercial landlord in Docklands, Canary Wharf Group, declined to comment.
The Canary Wharf Group has been attempting to keep up with the times by expanding outside of its primary market of financial sector tenants and creating new apartments, restaurants, and bars.
Despite this, Moody's, a credit rating agency, lowered the landlord's ratings in May because of the industry's bleak outlook.
The YY building, a more recent construction on the Canary Wharf district that replaced the former offices of Thomson Reuters across from the station, is still unoccupied, according to Bloomberg. A request for comment from Reuters was not answered by the property agents representing YY.
"The genie is out of the bottle," said Andrew Mawson, founder of consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates. "Employees aren't coming back to the office in the way that they used to."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
The largest bank in Europe informed staff on Monday that it intended to vacate the east London financial district tower bearing its name and transfer around 8,000 employees to a newly renovated office complex with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral.
A new wave of layoffs by large businesses coincides with the real estate sector already being under strain from rising financing prices for landlords and developers.
As home working gains popularity following the COVID-19 outbreak and as companies choose to develop greener offices to fulfil stringent environmental goals, businesses throughout the world are abandoning huge office buildings at an unprecedented rate.
According to real estate analysts and experts, the movement has the ability to change cities and is already posing a challenge to the business models of huge office landlords.
"Home working has shrunk the amount of space HSBC need. That won't be unique to them," said Tony Travers, director of the London School of Economics' London research group.
Since the 1980s, Canary Wharf and the City of London, London's main financial district, have fought for firm headquarters. However, Travers noted, competitive rents may tempt businesses that had previously baulked at the expense back to city centres.
According to a poll conducted by real estate brokerage Knight Frank last month, over half of the largest employers in the globe intend to downsize office space over the next three years, typically by 10% to 20%.
Wider markets have been considerably impacted by the cascading consequences of so many businesses cutting back on office space.
According to statistics prepared by law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, real estate topped an index of Europe's most distressed industries for the first quarter of 2023, driven by pressure on valuations, liquidity, and investment.
Given the substantial exposure its residents' households and investors have to the real estate market, Sweden in particular has received attention. For local commercial property companies, high debt levels, rising interest rates, and a faltering economy have created a toxic brew, with some being downgraded to junk status by rating agencies.
The deadline for many companies' green goals, set in response to pressure from investors, environmentalists, and regulators, is another significant reason driving workplace relocations.
"For large businesses, the operational model has to change and the companies need to stand alongside - as far as they are able - the pursuit of green policies," said Gerardine Davies, co-founder of investor Perenna Capital Management.
With a promise to eliminate about 40% of its office space globally, HSBC has one of the most ambitious targets to reduce office space among major employers.
In late 2026, the bank plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to the renovated former BT premises.
According to the project website, the so-called Panorama St. Paul's construction has 556,000 square feet of space, which is roughly half the size of the tower that HSBC is leaving behind, which has 1.1 million square feet.
In 2021, BT itself moved to a new, more compact headquarters in the neighbouring City neighbourhood of Aldgate, housing about 3,500 people and including more adaptable workspaces for hybrid workers.
The timing of HSBC's exit is unfortunate for Canary Wharf since it coincides with uncertainty surrounding Credit Suisse's long-standing position in the Docklands area following its emergency buyout by UBS, which intends to lay off thousands of employees.
The Square Mile financial district's operator, the City of London Corporation, was quick to hail HSBC's change on Monday, describing it as a "huge vote of confidence for the City". The commercial landlord in Docklands, Canary Wharf Group, declined to comment.
The Canary Wharf Group has been attempting to keep up with the times by expanding outside of its primary market of financial sector tenants and creating new apartments, restaurants, and bars.
Despite this, Moody's, a credit rating agency, lowered the landlord's ratings in May because of the industry's bleak outlook.
The YY building, a more recent construction on the Canary Wharf district that replaced the former offices of Thomson Reuters across from the station, is still unoccupied, according to Bloomberg. A request for comment from Reuters was not answered by the property agents representing YY.
"The genie is out of the bottle," said Andrew Mawson, founder of consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates. "Employees aren't coming back to the office in the way that they used to."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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