Canary Wharf Group plc is a British property company headquartered in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. It is the owner and developer of nearly of property at
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...
and elsewhere in London. Over the last 10 years it has constructed more office space in London than any other developer. The group owns of property which is worth £4.9 billion, of which 95.6% was let as of 30 June 2012.
History
The company was formed in 1993 as Canary Wharf Limited to acquire the former assets of
Olympia and York from its administrator.
[Canary Wharf Group website: History](_blank)
In December 1995, the company was acquired by an international consortium, including Olympia and York founder
Paul Reichmann.
In April 1999, the company floated on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
.
In 2004, a majority of the company was acquired by Glick Family Investments and
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...
using an
investment vehicle
An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages inc ...
company called Songbird Acquisitions, which was later taken over by
China Investment Corporation
China Investment Corporation (CIC) is a sovereign wealth fund that manages part of China's foreign exchange reserves. China's largest sovereign fund, CIC was established in 2007 with about US$200 billion of assets under management. In Mar ...
.
In 2015,
Brookfield Properties and
Qatar Investment Authority
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...
took over Canary Wharf Group for £2.6 billion. Songbird was delisted following the takeover.
Structure
The group owns Canary Wharf Contractors, a business which has built most of the buildings at
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...
. The Canary Wharf Group has also launched Vertus, a build-to-rent arm with properties under development in Canary Wharf.
Relationship with Transport for London
Several large transport projects have been constructed which link to
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...
, including the
Jubilee Line Extension and
Crossrail
Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...
.
The Canary Wharf Group agreed to pay £500m over 24 years
towards the £3.5bn cost of the Jubilee Line extension. The payment was reduced by at least £25m because the line was unable to run at the capacity agreed. Canary Wharf Group built the
Canary Wharf railway station for Crossrail at a cost of around £500m, contributing £150m towards the station cost.
The links between Canary Wharf Group and
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
remain strong, with Canary Wharf's Finance Director Peter Anderson previously on the board of Transport for London and chairing its finance and policy committee.
The Canary Wharf Group has consistently campaigned against the now defunct
Cycle Superhighway routes. In 2014, the Group opposed two cycle routes dubbed "Crossrail for bikes" by anonymously distributing a briefing paper claiming the project would be "extremely damaging to London". In 2018, Canary Wharf Group were a founding member of Unblock the Embankment,
a campaign to remove a segregated cycle route along the Embankment.
Property portfolio
Notable property addresses are:
Outside Canary Wharf itself, CWG also developed
20 Fenchurch Street and is redeveloping the
Shell Centre site in central London.
See also
*
Paul Reichmann
References
External links
Canary Wharf Group websiteCanary Wharf - Official Information Site
{{authority control
Property companies based in London
Real estate companies established in 1993
1993 establishments in England
Canary Wharf
Reichmann family