Real Estate
Canary Wharf’s Fate in the Balance: Who’s In and Who’s Out
The East London financial district is struggling to retain some major occupiers but it’s not all doom and gloom.
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The original Canary Wharf estate has become a poster child for the problems facing office landlords. Aging buildings, the new demands of flexible work and a banking industry upended by the global financial crisis have led to a steady drumbeat of shrinking demand and departing tenants over the past months.
While the narrative has been grim, the picture on the ground is more nuanced with owners preaching patience. A wave of investment to reinvent the Docklands district as a biotech hub is slowly gaining momentum, together with a growing resident population and retail, dining and entertainment scene.