30th Apr 2007 09:15
HSBC Holdings PLC30 April 2007 HSBC AGREES SALE AND LEASEBACK OF GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS HSBC has agreed the sale and leaseback of its head office building in CanaryWharf, London for £1.09 billion, the largest single property deal in UK history^. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Metrovacesa, S.A., one of Europe's most respectedproperty companies, and HSBC have exchanged contracts on the deal which sees thebank retain full control of occupancy while Metrovacesa takes a 998-year lease.HSBC has leased the building back for 20 years at an annual rent of £43.5million with an option to extend for a further five years. HSBC's 1.1 million square foot, 210-metre high, tower at 8 Canada Square willremain the Group's global headquarters. HSBC has been headquartered in Londonsince 1993 and announced plans for the new head office building in 1998. Itmoved in, in 2002, having incurred some £500 million in construction costs. Thebuilding houses 8,000 staff, and includes advanced facilities, such as a gymthat occupies an entire floor, dining rooms, shops and a medical centre. HSBC, which became the first bank to go 'carbon neutral', in 2005, last yearachieved an overall rating of 'Excellent' for the head office building from theBuilding Research Establishment (BRE), the UK's leading environmental standardsauthority. This was the first time that any building in the Canary Wharfdevelopment had received the highest possible rating for site management. Key tothe building's design is the use of energy efficient systems and practices. David Hodgkinson, Group Chief Operating Officer of HSBC Holdings plc, said:"London is one of the great crossroads of the world and there is no better placefor HSBC, the world's local bank, to be headquartered. This is a goodopportunity for HSBC to manage its property assets effectively and we're pleasedto do so with the assistance of Metrovacesa, one of Europe's pre-eminentproperty companies." Jesus Garcia de Ponga, deputy to the Chairman of Metrovacesa, commented: "We aredelighted to have reached agreement with HSBC on this landmark deal forMetrovacesa. The acquisition of the HSBC global headquarters through this saleand leaseback transaction is evidence of our commitment to establish asignificant presence in major international cities such as London and therebyachieve our aim to be one of the world's leading international real estateinvestors. "The iconic status of the building, its 'best in class' environmentalcredentials and the strength of the HSBC covenant made this a compellinginvestment opportunity for us. We look forward to building a strong ongoingrelationship with HSBC, both as our tenant and as a partner." The deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2007. CB Richard Ellis andFreshfields acted for HSBC, and Colliers International in Spain, Colliers CREand Clifford Chance acted for Metrovacesa. Footnote ^ By value of deal for a single property in the UK. Notes to editors: PhotographsPhotographs of HSBC's head office building at 8 Canada Square are available fromthe HSBC and Tamesis contacts listed above. HSBC Holdings plcHSBC Holdings plc serves over 125 million customers worldwide through around10,000 offices in 82 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacificregion, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of some US$1,861billion at 31 December 2006, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking andfinancial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world'slocal bank'. Metrovacesa, S.A.Metrovacesa is currently one of the largest quoted real estate companies inEurope and a market leader in Continental Europe's real estate market.Metrovacesa key figures as of 2006 are as follows (more details atwww.metrovacesa.es): Figures in euros (billions)GAV 20.116NAV 7.272EBITDA 2.810Net Profit 1.7922006 Investments 2.620 There will be a spin off of Metrovacesa in the near future, the result of whichwill be Cresa controlling circa 80 per cent of Metrovacesa (representing nearly€10 billion worth of assets after the spin off). This transaction will becompleted within the next few months. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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