Canary Wharf’s Plan B: turn workers into dwellers

Link Real Estate Investment Trust

09/10/2020 10:18

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Aimee Donnellan
    LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Four-fifths of the
120,000 workers usually based in London’s financial hub are at
home, and tenants like Morgan Stanley may jump ship. Its owners
plan to turn a third of the estate into residential apartments.
Even if they can pull it off, there could be bumps in the road. 
  
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    CONTEXT NEWS
    - Morgan Stanley has kicked off a search for a new London
headquarters.
    - The American bank is considering moving from its current
premises in Canary Wharf. It’s seeking at least 600,000 square
feet and will likely focus on options in the docklands district
as well as developments in the City of London, according to a
Bloomberg report on Sept. 30.
    - Nearly three-quarters of City firms are reviewing how much
office space they need following a pandemic-induced remote
working boom, according to a survey conducted by audit firm PwC
and the Confederation of British Industry.
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  DONNELLAN/ 
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FT article     https://www.ft.com/content/578e7ac6-630b-41e6-b9fb-19508886849b
PwC report     https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/financial-services/insights/cbi-pwc-financial-services-survey.html
BREAKINGVIEWS – KKR takes risky punt on 20th century office life
    urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2GP34P
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 (Editing by George Hay and Karen Kwok)
 ((Aimee.Donnellan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
Aimee.Donnellan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))