HB Reavis is looking to kickstart three or four development projects in London in the next 12 months, UK CEO Tomáš Jurdák has said.
The international developer founded in Bratislava, Slovakia, yesterday topped out its debut London office scheme at 33 Central, EC4.
The 227,000 sq ft office building was sold to Wells Fargo in July for the US bank’s occupation in a referendum-defying deal.
Speaking to Estates Gazette at the topping out ceremony, Jurdák said: “At the moment we are looking at a few other sites in the City, but also in Midtown and Southwark.”
Asked how much capital HB Reavis had allocated to London investments, he said: “I wouldn’t be specific but we have sufficient funds for three or four projects in the next 12 months.”
While HB Reavis’ strategy is bullish in the City, Jurdak said the result of the EU referendum had deterred HB Reavis from developing in UK regional cities.
He said: “It’s just the uncertainty connected to the referendum and let’s see how the situation will evolve and then we can make big strategic decisions.”
33 Central will be Wells Fargo’s EMEA headquarters. Plans for the interior include a six-horse stagecoach in the lobby, in reference to the bank’s logo and motto: “Together we’ll go far.”
The building is due for completion in Q3 of 2017.
David Cooper, vice president in Wells Fargo’s corporate real estate team, said it was “difficult to call” whether western European capitals like Paris and Frankfurt could pose a threat to the City’s financial services take-up. He said: “I don’t know. It’s a difficult one to call… There’s a huge amount of work that has to go on in terms of exiting from Europe. As a bank, we are confident to develop our business here in London and I think buying a freehold property in the City of London makes sense to us.”
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