JPMorgan Eyes London’s Largest Office Tower in Canary Wharf

JPMorgan Chase is sketching out a bold future in London, paving the way for what could be the city’s biggest office building.

The Wall Street bank tapped Foster + Partners to draft plans for its long-held Riverside South site in Canary Wharf, Bloomberg reported. The potential tower would span more than 2 million square feet, almost double the size of JPMorgan’s office at 25 Bank Street and well above the city’s largest existing office block, the 1.2 million-square-foot 22 Bishopsgate.

The riverside parcel could also deliver the longest frontage on the Thames and uninterrupted views of London’s skyline.

JPMorgan has owned the site since 2008, shelving an earlier RSHP-designed scheme after opting instead to buy Lehman Brothers’ former Canary Wharf headquarters. The bank nearly sold the land a decade ago, drawing interest from residential developers, but ultimately held on.

Pricey basement works are already in place, making the plot a rare shovel-ready option in a market with few large-scale new office projects.

The proposal is still far from a done deal. Sources told Bloomberg the bank is also weighing a major refurbishment of 25 Bank Street or a relocation elsewhere in the city, where it owns a substantial building on Victoria Embankment. In contrast to rivals stuck in long-term leases, the bank has more flexibility since it owns both the Bank Street tower and the Riverside site outright.

The timing is noteworthy. London’s office pipeline has thinned after Brexit, the pandemic and inflation-battered development economics. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and other major occupiers have complained of limited options for expansion. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and HSBC have all wrestled with tough decisions in Canary Wharf.

For now, JPMorgan has eased near-term pressure by leasing space at 1 Cabot Square, the former Credit Suisse HQ, while it debates the longer-term move. Should it press ahead at Riverside South, the bank would add another mega-project to its portfolio after wrapping its 2.5 million-square-foot Manhattan headquarters.

It’s also looking to sell a Plaza District office building in Manhattan for $270 million, about half of what it sought before the pandemic hit five years ago.

— Holden Walter-Warner