Chase Manhattan requirement gives City sites the edge over Canary Wharf in office skirmish
Nick Mathiason
Chase Manhattan, one of the world’s biggest banks, is set to base its UK headquarters in Spitalfields, EC2.
Negotiations between Chase, the Corporation of London and the London Financial Futures and Options Exchange, which owns the long lease on the 0.8ha (2 acre) central site at the City market, are at an early stage and the precise nature of the proposed deal is unclear.
But a source close to the discussions confirmed that Chase has identified Spitalfields as its preferred location.
During the past two months, Chase has met representatives of British Land, which wants the bank to prelet Broadgate Plaza, EC2. Chase has also been in discussions with CIT Markborough on London Bridge City, SE1 and Daiwa on its 88 Wood Street EC2 building.
If Chase plumps for a Square Mile location, it will give a massive boost to the City’s fight to stop financial institutions decamping to Canary Wharf.
A Chase Manhattan move could also trigger relocation decisions from “super-banks”, which put their requirements on hold after last summer’s global financial gyrations.
Mike Bear, the chief executive of Spitalfields Development Group which owns 280 Bishopsgate – the development site which forms part of Spitalfields, said: “It seems that the banks are beginning to act with more certainty. The list of requirements is encouraging.”
Sources have indicated that Bank of America, which pulled out of a deal with Canary Wharf earlier this year, is now inching towards a firm requirement. In addition, observers believe that the soon-to-be merged Deutsche Bank/Bankers Trust giant is again looking for space. Canary Wharf is believed to be its preferred location.
City insiders have also said that Bank of Nova Scotia has a 23,225m2 (250,000 sq ft) requirement.
