UK - HSBC Bank has agreed to sell its London headquarters in Canary Wharf to the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) for £772.5m (€861m) in cash.
This will be the third time that 8 Canada Square has changed hands, as HSBC was forced to buy it back from Metrovacesa a year after entering into a sale-and-leaseback deal with the Spanish property company.
HSBC sold the tower to Metrovacesa for £1.09bn in May 2007 but bought it back for only £838m less than a year later.
The bank said the latest transaction will result in a gain of approximately £350m on its income statement.
NPS is expected to complete the purchase of HSBC's 100% shareholding in Project Maple II BV, the sole asset of which is the 998-year leasehold interest in 8 Canada Square, before the end of the year.
Under the terms of the agreement, HSBC will retain full control of occupancy for the remaining 17.5 years of the existing 20-year leaseback period, at a current rent of £46m per annum.
"We actively manage our global real estate portfolio in accordance with the needs of our businesses and in the interests of our shareholders, and we are delighted the National Pension Service of Korea, one of Asia's largest sovereign investors, will be our new landlord," said Ken Harvey, chief technology and services officer at HSBC.
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