HSBC is planning to ditch its massive Canary Wharf headquarters for a smaller office in the City of London.
The banking giant will up sticks from the 45-floor skyscraper, which has been dubbed the ‘Tower of Doom’ by some staff, towards the end of 2026.
The rise of home working following the pandemic has left swathes of empty desks in offices in towns and cities around the world, including the UK.
With many firms seeking less space, HSBC is aiming to move to Panorama St Paul’s, the redeveloped former offices of telecoms group BT in the Square Mile.
‘Panorama offers a modern office environment in the City, well-connected to major transport links and amenities,’ the bank said.
Downsizing: HSBC is to leave its 45-floor Canary Wharf skyscraper (pictured) - which has been dubbed the tower of doom by staff - towards the end of 2026
HSBC shares rose 0.3 per cent, or 1.9p, to 604.1p.
The decision is a huge blow to Canary Wharf, where HSBC has been based since 2002 when it corralled its retail, business, corporate and investment bankers into the tower from various offices across London, at the cost of nearly £1billion.
Officially known as 8 Canada Square, the towering steel and glass edifice was designed by British architect Norman Foster, the brains behind other notable London landmarks including ‘The Gherkin’ skyscraper in the City.
His company also designed Apple’s sprawling headquarters in California, US.
The HSBC tower houses around 8,000 employees across nearly 1.8m square feet of office space.
The bank’s new site in the City is a 556,000-square- foot premises.
In 2007, HSBC sold the tower to Spanish property firm Metrovacesa in a deal that made it the first building in Britain to fetch more than £1billion.
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The bank bought the property back in 2008 when Metrovacesa faced financing issues during the global recession.
It was then sold in 2009 to a South Korean pension fund before being acquired by its current owner, the Qatari government’s sovereign wealth fund, in 2014.
But the bank’s shift to Panorama comes as firms look to cut back on their real estate costs. The rise of home working means staff are spending less time in the office.
In 2021, the bank’s boss Noel Quinn scrapped an executive floor on the 42nd floor, claiming it was ‘empty half the time’ as HSBC bigwigs frequently criss-crossed the globe to manage its operations.
The news of the move was greeted with elation in the City and touted as a sign of the Square Mile’s ongoing status as a major global financial centre.
‘HSBC’s decision to return here to the heart of the City of London is a huge vote of confidence,’ said Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation.
‘This move further solidifies the City’s reputation as a prime destination for financial services firms. We are confident that HSBC will thrive and find great success.’
But the decision is likely to raise further questions about the future of Canary Wharf as owners – the Qatar Investment Authority and Canadian asset manager Brookfield – look to wean the area off its reliance on major investment banks amid a drought of global dealmaking.
Several projects are being drawn up to broaden its appeal, including plans for an 820,000-square- foot laboratory tower, which is designed to lure life sciences companies to the area.
There are also proposals to build student accommodation and residential flats as well as revamp the Middle Dock area of the site to introduce more green space and leisure areas to attract recreational visitors.
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HSBC is to move its world headquarters from its 45-storey Canary Wharf tower, possibly back to the City of London. The banking giant is to move out of 8 Canada Square
8 Canada Square
8 Canada Square (commonly referred to as the HSBC Tower, or the “Tower of Doom” by some HSBC employees) is a 45 floor skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. The building is the global headquarters of the HSBC Holdings.
HSBC could have decided to cut costs by moving to a business park on the outskirts of London. But they didn't. Instead, the bank justified the move to be “well-connected to major transport links and amenities” and “a more convenient location for employees”.
Businesses are flocking to more appealing neighbourhoods. It's a trend seen across Europe, with data from Bloomberg last year highlighting how high-rise financial districts have been hit hard by the pandemic while upmarket historic areas, like London's Mayfair and Paris's seventh arrondissem*nt, are booming.
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.
HSBC has vowed not to announce any new bank branch closures in 2024, it revealed to customers this month. In a 'festive message' to customers, Jose Carvalho, HSBC UK's head of wealth and personal banking, said the bank was 'expanding community locations up and down the country' via pop-up branches and banking hubs.
HSBC is set to leave its home of 20 years at 8 Canada Square in Canary Wharf, and relocate to a site near St Paul's Cathedral previously occupied by BT. The move, first reported by The Times, is hugely significant in what it says about demand for office space - and not just in London.
Canary Wharf Group says £2 billion of development is currently under construction across Wood Wharf and North Quay – almost three-quarters of it residential, including co-living, affordable and Build to Rent designations, and a quarter of it being developed for life sciences schemes.
HSBC is moving its UK headquarters from Canary Wharf back into the City of London as it adjusts to the impact of hybrid work on its office space needs.
According to reports in the FT, Moody's is not planning to renew its lease at One Canada Square and will instead move to 10 Gresham Street, near St Paul's Cathedral, once its current tenancy runs out in 2026.
Moody's has spent 15 years in Canary Wharf and is the latest high-profile tenant to announce that it will leave the area. It plans to leave in 2026, after the lease on its office in One Canada Square runs out.
Offices are still at the core of Canary Wharf, but their importance has shrunk: from 95% of the portfolio's value 20 years ago to 74% by 2022 (of that, big banks make up just over half, down from 70% in 2004). Plans are in hand for a swanky life-sciences campus.
Canary Wharf Group plc is a British property company headquartered in London, England. It is the owner and developer of nearly 100 acres (0.40 km2) of property at Canary Wharf and elsewhere in London. Over the last 10 years it has constructed more office space in London than any other developer.
Morgan Stanley Is Staying in Canary Wharf for Another Decade
The bank will maintain its offices at 20 Bank Street through 2038 after agreeing to extend its lease on the space by 10 years, according to a statement Wednesday from landlord Canary Wharf Group.
These reports proved true; on May 26, 2021, HSBC announced that it would abandon the United States retail market as part of a pivot to Asia. In April 2022, Citizens Bank completed the acquisition of 80 branches from HSBC in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Florida.
“We are pleased to announce the sale of the domestic mass market of our US retail banking business. They are good businesses, but we lacked the scale to compete. Our continued presence in the US is key to our international network and an important contributor to our growth plans.
British bank HSBC Holdings PLC announced Wednesday that it will sell most of its retail locations across the U.S., reducing 148 branches down to 58 and winding down an additional 35 to 40 branches. The remaining locations will be repurposed into international wealth management centers.
The move is part of plans to downsize its office space following the Covid-19 pandemic, as the bank says it is now committed to flexible working. HSBC has told the BBC it is negotiating a new lease on BT's former headquarters near St Paul's Cathedral.
HSBC is among the many banks to close bank branches, shutting 114 of its locations in 2023. HSBC said the decline of in-branch banking has accelerated so much since the COVID-19 pandemic that some branches which are set to close serve fewer than 250 customers a week.
The sale of the mass market credit portfolio and the transactions with Citizens and Cathay are part of a strategy to focus HSBC's U.S. operations on competitive strengthens: connecting global wholesale and wealth management clients to other markets around the world.
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