Qatar finally purchases Canary Wharf as enough Songbird shareholders approve sale February 5, 2015 The Qataris have finally got their hands on Canary Wharf, after enough shareholders in current owner Songbird approved the sale. An estimated 94 per cent of shareholders were in favour of the purchase, according to a statement by Qatar sovereign wealth fund and Canadian property fund manager Brookfield Property Partners, which will jointly own the [...]
Chinese insurers to splurge $73bn on real estate November 25, 2015 Chinese insurers could splash out as much as $73bn (£48.4bn) on the global real estate market by 2019, new research shows, as companies look to protect themselves from volatile equity markets and take advantage of relaxed rules on overseas investment. According to Cushman & Wakefield, top insurance companies in China had just 0.8 per cent of [...]
Fawning over Canary Wharf’s light show January 7, 2015 Is that Harry Potter’s patronus? No, nor is it someone’s leftover Christmas decorations. It’s art and it’s in the Wharf. Canary Wharf has welcomed in the last of the dark winter nights with a delightfully luminous exhibition. Arriving and leaving work in the dark ain’t so bad for Wharfers this January. The exhibit lasts until [...]
Focus On Croydon: The affordable South London hotspot that’s getting a £1bn facelift January 8, 2016 If there’s one thing we learnt from the London property market in 2015, it was not to underestimate the outer boroughs. Some of the largest house price growth increases were to be found in these supposed backwaters. Growth in places like Haringey and Hillingdon far outstripped traditionally prime areas like Kensington & Chelsea and Camden, [...]
China cracked, Bolland bowed out and Dry January got drier: Here’s what got us talking this week January 8, 2016 The Jetsons' family car got a bit closer to reality, and a base-jumper around Canary Wharf gave us all vertigo while Donald Trump got punchy over the impending Commons debate on whether he should be banned. Here's what got us talking this week How low can yuan go? (Source: Getty) 1) China cracked Stock markets were suspended twice [...]
Battle for Canary Wharf nears end as Songbird rejects offer January 12, 2015 SONGBIRD Estates, the company behind Canary Wharf, has formally rejected a £2.6bn takeover offer from its Qatari shareholder. Songbird said yesterday it will not accept the 350p-a-share offer by the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) and Brookfield, on the grounds that it does not reflect “the full value of the business, its unique operating platform and [...]
Canary Wharf owner Songbird to rebuff Qatari bidders again January 11, 2015 Canary Wharf owner Songbird Estates is expected to dash the Qatari sovereign wealth fund’s ownership hopes this week by issuing a firm rejection of the suitor’s £2.6bn offer. The Qatar Investment Authority, which has made the offer alongside Canadian firm Brookfield, already owns 28.6 per cent in Songbird but needs to win the backing from [...]
Hefty refurbishments leave Everyman cinemas with £430,000 loss in six months September 28, 2015 Everyman cinema group announced it made a loss of £430,000 despite a 31 per cent increase in revenues in the six months to 10 June. The premium cinema operator’s revenues were £8.16m, boosted by an increase in ticket sales and net spend per customer, but up from £6.2m in the first half of last year. [...]
Making Canary Wharf feel like home: Commissioning public art for open spaces in a business district February 12, 2015 How do you create a sense of community – a sense of homeliness – in a place where no one lives? One way is through art. From the moment Canary Wharf was conceived, architects and planners envisaged a prominent role for culture within the development. In the 1990s, art historian and former director of the [...]
Canary Wharf investor backs Songbird bid December 18, 2014 A MAJOR shareholder in Canary Wharf Group has written to the board of its controlling company, Songbird Estates, urging it to accept the takeover offer from its Qatari suitors. US asset manager Franklin Mutual Advisers holds a seven per cent stake in the east London estate alongside Songbird which controls a 70 per cent interest. [...]