After 22 years as chief executive of Canary Wharf Group, Sir George Iacobescu has stepped aside to let a new man lead the business through the next stage of its development.
But who is Shobi Khan, and what will he bring to the business as it faces the challenges of Brexit, falling house prices, the continuing retail crisis and a depressed financial services sector?
The former president and chief operating officer of General Growth Properties was chosen over 50 other potential candidates by the Brookfield and Qatar Investment Authority-owned CWG.
Khan was of course known to Brookfield, which acquired his former company, then one of the largest shopping centre operators in the US, last year for more than $15bn.
He joined GGP in 2011 and was responsible for the asset management and investment activities of the Chicago-based company – responsibilities he will also hold at CWG.
Iacobescu, meanwhile, as executive chairman, will look after the construction and development side of the business, which still has an 11m sq ft pipeline to deliver.
Prior to his stint at GGP, Khan was US chief investment officer of real estate investment adviser Bentall Kennedy, while earlier in his career he served as senior vice president, investments for Equity Group where he completed over $20bn of global property and M&A transactions.
Fresh insight
Tony Gibbon, founding partner at BH2 and adviser to Brookfield in London, said: “I can tell you that the Brookfield management have every confidence in him. He’s experienced outside of retail, having worked for Sam Zell at Equity Group and before that at Bentall Kennedy. The expectation is that his varied experience will be a fresh and dynamic compliment to George’s formidable skills.”
A source close to CWG added: “A lot of people have been there a long time, and fresh eyes give fresh insight. This is about evolution and the next generation has to step forward. This is part of that process.
“Shobi’s been based in the US, although he has some UK experience, and he will bring fresh ideas and a fresh way of looking at things that is healthy for any company.”
When Khan assumes his new job in October, he will have 8m sq ft of offices and shops at Canary Wharf to manage at a time when retail is in the doldrums, and the financial services firms that Canary Wharf has long been associated with are waiting to see the consequences of Brexit.
New tenants are due to arrive, however, with WeWork slated to move in to the 284,704 sq ft of space formerly occupied by the European Medicines Agency at 30 Churchill Place, E14, in December.
“The objective [on the estate] going forward will be to build on what has been achieved to date; all concerned recognise that the estate needs to be less purely financial services based,” said Gibbon. “An ability to actively interact with occupiers at a senior level is as important as London experience.”
This is partly behind the more residential-led Canary Wharf Group development at adjacent Wood Wharf, which Khan, with his responsibilities for leasing, asset management and investment, will also be involved with.
The 23-acre scheme is expected to provide 3,600 homes, of which nearly half will be PRS. Canary Wharf Group’s built-to-rent operator Vertus will manage the flats.
In addition, 2m sq ft of office space and a further 490,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants and community uses will be created.
Khan will face the challenge of helping expand CWG in an increasingly competitive development market. CWG’s attempts to expand its reach so far have included tabling a bid for Capco’s Earls Court project, which has been mired in controversy.
It has also been suggested as a possible future purchaser of the 13-acre Billingsgate Fish Market on the northern side of Canary Wharf and Wood Wharf, as the market is being lined up for a relocation to Barking Reach Power Station by the City of London Corporation.
New phase
Iacobescu said: “The company is entering a new phase as we seek to diversify our development and management activities, as well as expand through new projects and new locations.
“We are in a strong position, with more than 30 years of development, construction and management experience to further develop Canary Wharf and to take on new major development opportunities.”
So while Shobi Khan may be unfamiliar to the UK real estate market today, come October he will need to have started to make his mark.
To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette
