Morgan Stanley appoints Savills as receiver for its own Canary Wharf office

Morgan Stanley Mortgage Servicing (MSMS) has appointed property adviser Savills as receiver for an office building the investment bank rents in London's Canary Wharf business district.

MSMS, acting as special servicer, is seeking to secure £96 mln (EUR 122 mln) of outstanding debt on behalf of bondholders of the Radamantis CMBS.

The original £131 mln loan on 15 Westferry Circus was provided by Lehman Brothers to Ireland's Vico Capital, which bought the building in 2005. Morgan Stanley securitised the debt with three other property loans in the CMBS structure that was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Morgan Stanley transferred the case to its special servicing unit earlier this year after Dublin-based solicitor Brian O'Donnell, who founded Vico with his wife Dr Mary Patricia O'Donnell, sought to be declared bankrupt in the UK. The company founder subsequently became embroiled in a legal dispute regarding the ownership of the building.

Savills is expected to start marketing the 15,800 m² property in September. Morgan Stanley has a lease on the building running to 2035 but the space is being sublet by London's Tube Lines transport company. Morgan Stanley's London headquarters is located at Cabot Square in Canary Wharf.