UBS Seen Winning London Space Race as Office Rents Soar
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When UBS Group AG agreed to rent a new headquarters in London five years ago, the U.K. economy was struggling to emerge from a recession and the financial district’s banks were firing workers following the global credit crisis. As the Swiss lender’s building nears completion, its timing looks shrewd.
UBS secured a rent of 54.50 pounds ($82.44) a square foot in the City of London financial district’s biggest leasing agreement since 2002. Since then, a rebounding financial industry has collided with a dearth of new offices, pushing average rents up to about 8 pounds a square foot more than UBS will pay. Broker CBRE Group Inc. forecasts an increase of 12 percent this year.