Dutch high-frequency trader eyes 30K sf at Grace Building

A major European high-frequency trader is in late-stage negotiations to lease 30,000 square feet at the Grace Building overlooking Bryant Park.

Flow Traders, which is headquartered in Amsterdam and has a market cap of $1.47 billion (1.39 billion euros), plans to take a full floor at the 1.6 million-square-foot tower at 1114 Sixth Avenue, sources said.

It wasn’t clear which floor the high-frequency trader is negotiating on, but asking rents at the building, owned by a joint venture between Brookfield Property Partners [TRDataCustom] and the Swig Company, range from the low $80s per square foot in the base to around $100 per square foot on the upper floors of the 49-story building.

A representative for Flow Traders did not respond to a request for comment.

A team at CBRE led by Peter Turchin is handling leasing. Turchin declined to comment.

HBO, the tower’s anchor tenant, occupies more than 300,000 square feet and is relocating to Hudson Yards in 2019.

Flow Traders, which completed a successful IPO last year, opened its first U.S. office in 2010, signing a five-year lease covering a little more than 5,000 square feet at 3 Bryant Park.

When that lease expired, Flow Traders moved into a small office nearby at American Realty Capital New York City REIT’s 1140 Sixth Avenue, according to CoStar.

The company, which was founded in 2004, rose to the top ranks of European high-frequency trading firms that use algorithms to rapidly trade securities. It’s now looking to repeat the model that made it successful across the Atlantic to take on American giants like Citadel, which is planning to move into 200,000 square feet at L&L Holding’s 425 Park Avenue when the building is completed in 2018.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the owner of 1140 Sixth Avenue. The owner is American Realty Capital New York City REIT, not New York REIT.