Philly-Area Tenant Vanguard Exits 88K SF Malvern Office

Vanguard is leaving an 88,000-square-foot hole in the Philadelphia-area office market.

The investment management company is exiting its space at FLD Group’s 45 Liberty Boulevard in Malvern, a suburb of Philadelphia, Bisnow reported. The departure originally appeared in a Morningstar report and was later confirmed by the company.

“Vanguard continuously evaluates the effective use of workspace in our leased and owned properties,” a spokesperson for Vanguard told the publication; FLD didn’t respond to a request for comment.

It’s not clear when Vanguard moved in, but its exit at the end of the month will leave FLD scrambling; the firm occupies 64 percent of the building. Commentary from Midland Loan Services noted that FLD is negotiating with a potential tenant to take 65,000 square feet of that space.

But FLD is also trying to plan ahead at the renovated building, which it acquired from Equus Capital Partners in December 2021 for $36.3 million. The landlord is reportedly discussing an early renewal for the property’s second-largest tenant, Microsoft. The company’s 43,000-square-foot lease is not due to expire until February 2028.

It’s unclear if Vanguard is relocating from the office space, but it has plenty of other holdings in Malvern. Its global headquarters are at 100 Vanguard Boulevard, connected to another 300,000-square-foot space by a pedestrian path. It also leases 225,000 square feet in Frazer and 16,000 square feet in Center City.

There are still big deals to be had in Philly’s suburbs.

A year ago, Power Home Remodeling moved to expand its headquarters in Chester, Pennsylvania, by 65,000 square feet, bringing its total space to 250,000 square feet. The 12-year lease with Philadelphia Union represented Eastern Pennsylvania’s largest office lease since 2022.

— Holden Walter-Warner