Accountancy firm KPMG has put its London headquarters at Canary Wharf on the market in a bid to capitalise on the strong investor demand for central London commercial property, UK media have reported.
The firm has appointed JLL to market the 14-storey property at 15 Canada Square in a sale-and-leaseback deal. The asset is expected to fetch more than £400 mln (€433 mln).
KPMG occupies the entire 40,000 m2 building and has said it has no plans to leave London.
Philip Davidson, managing partner at KPMG, told the Financial Times that the decision to sell the building reflected the company’s strategy of not owning buildings in order to free up cash to invest elsewhere in the business. KPMG currently leases 22 buildings in the UK.
He added that the firm had been motivated by ‘strong demand from investors for prime London assets’.
‘We want to capitalise on this rising market,’ he said.
The news comes a few days after Lloyds Banking Group announced it was selling its London headquarters at 25 Gresham Street in the City of London in a sale-and-leaseback deal.
25 Gresham Street - one of the City's few 'island' sites - comprises 10 floors of office space over 11,150 m2. The property is expected to fetch a price in the region of £150 mln (€162 mln).
