Canary Wharf Agrees to sell Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston UK HQs to Royal Bank of Scotland for Pounnds 1.1 Billion

Freeman News - December 8, 2003

In one of the biggest property deals ever seen in the UK, Canary Wharf has agreed to sell two buildings to Royal Bank of Scotland for Pounds 1.1bn. Wholly owned subsidiaries of RBS paid a total of Pounds 1.112bn for the two properties - 25 Canada Square, occupied by Citigroup, and 5 Canada Square, occupied by Credit Suisse First Boston.

The 1.2m sq ft 25 Canada Square was valued at Pounds 690m on 30 June 2003, and generates Pounds 44.9m a year in rent. 5 Canada Square totals 515,000 sq ft, was valued at Pounds 327m in June and provides an annual rent of Pounds 19.7m. The disposals will increase Canary Wharf's net asset value by around Pounds 8m, its adjusted NAV by Pounds 32.1m and its triple NAV by around Pounds 71.1m. Canary Wharf's adjusted triple NAV is likely to fall by about Pounds 96.5m.

The deals still need to be approved by Canary Wharf shareholders, and an extraordinary general meeting will be held on 22 December in order for voting to take place on the issue. The sale of Canary Wharf to Morgan Stanley and Simon Glick will be conditional on the completion of the disposals. However, the deal to sell the buildings will still be completed if Morgan Stanley's offer is ultimately unsuccessful. Sphere: Related Content