HSBC mulls sale of London, NY, Paris HQs for £2.7 billion

14 April 2009

HSBC Holdings, the world's largest banking group, is considering the sale of its world headquarters in London and office buildings in New York and Paris.
 
The sale is expected to generate £2.7 billion ($4 billion), which the company intends to utilise for funding of its business and expansion plans.

''We are taking a look at the market, yes. There are people interested in buying at an appropriate price,'' an HSBC spokesman said.
 
The landmark assets earmarked for sale include the headquarters at Canary Wharf in London, office buildings in the high-status Fifth Avenue in New York and the prestigious property at Champs Elysees in Paris.

The transactions are expected to be through a sale and lease-back arrangement which would allow the business to operate as normal with no relocation.

HSBC has appointed real estate firm CB Richard Ellis to supervise the sale process.

The company has an eye on Asian businesses put up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland and is also eyeing the Citigroup, which is planning to move back from the Far East.

The sale plan emerged just a few months after the financial services company bought back the Canary Wharf tower for £838 million from the Spanish property developer Metrovacesa to whom it was sold for a massive £1.09 billion in mid-2007 when the property prices were at the peak, gaining a profit of £252 million.