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Morgan Stanley reduces Canary Wharf presence
Robert Lea30 Jan 2009
The contraction in the investment banking trade will see Morgan Stanley move out of a chunk of Canary Wharf, the Docklands financial district where the properties are controlled by its real estate arm Songbird Estates.
Morgan Stanley said it is giving up 345,000 sq ft at 20 Cabot Square accounting for around a quarter of the US investment bank's office space in Canary Wharf.
The bank, which exercised a clause in its contract to move out of the property 10 years earlier than originally planned, said it is retrenching to its other two offices in the area.
Morgan Stanley's decision increases the headache for Songbird and Canary Wharf Group.
Morgan Stanley's Cabot Square office accounts for about 4% of Canary Wharf Group's rental income.
Estate agent Knight Frank forecasts 1.2 million sq ft of empty offices over the next year as other banks seek to cut back space and find tenants to sub-let.
