HSBC in talks with Pinnacle consortium
THE GROUP hoping to build the Pinnacle skyscraper on Bishopsgate is close to securing financing from HSBC, it emerged at the weekend.
Arab Investments (AI) plans to raise £600m from the financing deal, to add to £130m secured from a 60-strong consortium of backers.
AI boss Khalid Affara has been courting banks for months in an attempt to shore up the project’s finances, after pouring in £200m to meet running costs since the firm bought the site from German developers in 2008.
The consortium is now understood to be in detailed talks with HSBC to act as lead arranger and underwriter. Under the deal, the bank would be responsible for helping to obtain financing from other institutions.
Construction work on the Pinnacle has already begun with builder Brookfields working on ground-level structures.
Law firm Davies Arnold Cooper, which is advising Arab Investments on the development, has already agreed to take around 100,000 square feet in the building for around £65 per square foot. The agreed rent is around a third above current market rates.
Office provider Regus will also take 80,000 square feet over four floors, paying as much as £85 square foot. The ground-floor shops have been let to Eat, Costa and sushi chain Wasabi.
Once completed, the Pinnacle will stand 145 feet above the tallest building in the UK, One Canada Square. The top of the Pinnacle will be open to the public, and is expected to attract around 1.2m visitors a year.
The deal follows Heron International’s successful funding of its residential tower near Barbican last week. The property investor secured a £115m loan facility from HSBC, Santander and Investec.
Arab Investments and HSBC were unavailable for comment yesterday.