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The owner of Canary Wharf today said the value of the Docklands development has finally started rising again in the strongest signal yet that the property crash is over.
Songbird Estates, which has a 69.3% stake in Canary Wharf, said its offices have risen 0.5% in value since the end of June while the shops are up 4.9%.
It was the first rise in more than two years and marked a major turning point for the property industry after the most savage declines in memory.
Songbird's chairman David Pritchard said: “The financial problems in the economy have dominated the headlines over the course of the last year.
“We are, however, now seeing some signs of confidence returning.
“We can look forward to the future with a greater degree of confidence,” he added.
The value of the estate peaked at £7.5 billion in June 2007 but crashed to £4.6 billion at the end of June this year before edging higher in recent weeks.
Songbird also reported narrowing losses and revealed that sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and China now own nearly 29.9% of the business each following a £1 billion emergency fundraising.
It reported losses of £110.9 million for the six months to the end of June compared with a £418.2 million deficit a year earlier.
The firm raised £620 million through the sale of ordinary shares, £275 million via preference shares, and another £135 million in debt.
It enabled Songbird to repay its £880 million loan from Citigroup, saving Songbird from collapse.
