Canary Wharf Group, a subsidiary of Songbird Estates, said yesterday it had sold an office development in Canary Wharf, east London, for £290 million

Canary Wharf Group, a subsidiary of Songbird Estates, said yesterday it had sold an office development in Canary Wharf, east London, for £290 million (S$889 million) to Fitch Ratings Ltd parent Fimalac.

The 320,000-sq-ft building at 40 North Colonnade is due for completion in 2010 and will house credit rating agency Fitch’s headquarters.

Other occupants could include global accountancy group KPMG, which has an option on some of the office space, in addition to its new headquarters under construction next door.

A spokesman for Canary Wharf Group said it would definitely push ahead with its sole remaining speculative development at 25 Churchill Place, with space becoming increasingly tight at the towering Docklands site, which competes with the City of London district as a financial services centre.

‘It is the only building left now where there will be significant space at Canary Wharf,’ he said, adding that the company planned to finish construction of the 350,000-sq-ft building at 25 Churchill Place within 18-24 months.

He said the company would also push on for the time being with its Riverside site, which was rejected in May by US investment bank JPMorgan as the location for its new London headquarters.

The spokesman said Canary Wharf Group would bring construction up to ground level in the next 18 months and decide at that point whether to continue or temporarily top it off.

Source: The Business Times, 03 July 2007