US banking giant JPMorgan has completed a lease for around 150,000 square feet of overflow space, roughly a third of Credit Suisse’s former UK headquarters in Canary Wharf in London.
The talks for the lease emerged in January and come as the bank steps up its drive to bring its staff back to the office five days a week.
Swiss bank UBS took on the lease on One Cabot Square, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, when it stepped in to complete an emergency takeover of banking peer Credit Suisse in a state-sponsored takeover in 2023, as reported. It then began moving Credit Suisse staff into its offices at 5 Broadgate by Liverpool Street Station in the City of London.
The Credit Suisse lease on the 540,000-square-foot, 21-storey One Cabot Square, runs until 2034. The negotiations by the US's largest bank are understood to have begun before its decision to require all staff to return to the office five days a week from March, as reported. But it is also understood to be over-capacity at its 1 million-square-foot tower at 25 Bank Street in Canary Wharf, which it bought for £495 million in 2010, and which it is thought to be planning to refurbish.
In the US, it has been stepping up its commitment to investing in offices to accommodate its growing workforce, as reported.
The company reported its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with reported revenue of $44.9 billion and managed revenue of $45.7 billion. Jamie Dimon, the chairman said: “The US economy remained resilient in the quarter. The finalisation of tax reform and potential deregulation are positive for the economic outlook, however, significant risks persist – including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices. As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios.”
Knight Frank advised UBS, while JLL advised JP Morgan.
One Cabot Square comprises two interlinked buildings on the Canary Wharf estate. The wider estate is owned jointly by Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield.
Senior CoStar analyst Patrick Scanlon said: "The vacancy rate in the Docklands Core submarket, which includes Canary Wharf, has stabilised after seven years of upward movement. The financial sector has largely been responsible for reining in vacancies: Morgan Stanley and Barclays have re-committed to almost 1.4 million square feet, while HSBC has been linked to a potential acquisition of up to 180,000 square feet. The area has also attracted interest from fintech tenants such as Zopa and Revolut."