Press releaseFIMALAC today entered into an agreement for a significant office building to be constructed in London's financial area at Canary Wharf. This building will become the head office for the group's businesses in the United Kingdom and will accommodate the very strong development of FITCH GROUP's activities in London which requires an increasing need for office space in view of the continued growth of its workforce.
FITCH GROUP, which currently has approximately 700 staff based in London, scattered among various locations in the City, continues to show strong growth. This progressive relocation to Canary Wharf will allow all the teams to be more efficiently based in one building in a prime business location appropriate for the Group's future development in London.
Canary Wharf is poised to become the most prestigious business centre in the U.K. Home already to many of the most powerful international financial institutions and renowned financial communications groups, Canary Wharf is the ideal location for FITCH Group's head office in the U.K.
The building will have a total floor area of about 320,000 sq.ft (ca. 30,000 m2). The architectural project is being designed by the US architect firm, Kohn Pedersen Fox, whose achievements include the World Bank HQ in Washington DC and the World Financial Center in Shanghai. The interior fittings and decoration will be supervised by the French firm, LLB Architecture.
The building and interior fittings are scheduled for completion during the last quarter of 2010, allowing FITCH RATINGS to move into their new premises towards the end of 2010, along with other tenants, as FITCH would not occupy the whole of the building.
The total investment in land acquisition, construction and fittings amounts to an estimated 431 M€ (*). This property transaction will be managed through a company 80% owned by FIMALAC and 20% by HEARST CORPORATION, FIMALAC's current investment partner within FITCH GROUP.
The transaction is planned to be financed by up to 30% from both partners'equity and through bank debt for the remaining 70%.
(*) i.e.GBP 290m based on exchange rate of EUR1 = GBP0.6721 at 28/06/2007.