Relief for City as Chinese banks expand

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank is to open a permanent UK office in the City of London. The commercial bank, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China, has chosen Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan’s Angel Court, EC2, for its first overseas office. It has placed one of the 8,500 sq ft “sky floors” under offer in the 24-storey tower, where rents start at around £67 per sq ft and rise to £85 per sq ft for the top levels. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank first came to London in 2013, opening a representative office at London Executive Office’s 1 Cornhill, EC3. Toscafund chief economist Savvas Savouri expects to see more Chinese banks coming to the City, offsetting any shrinking of domestic financial services firms. He said: “We should be prepared for larger Chinese banks to build their presence in London. After all, London has never been cheaper to enter into for China’s banks, insurers or other corporates. “Do not be surprised if we see similar actions from bank-assurers from elsewhere across the emerging world.” As of the end of 2015, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, which was founded in 1992 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1999, reported total assets of 5,044.4bn yuan (£601bn). Stanhope and Mitsui have also signed financial data management firm Rimes Technologies to take an 8,500 sq ft floor in Angel Court, and serviced office provider Landmark is under offer to take five floors totalling around 35,000 sq ft. The 300,000 sq ft office building, designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, is due to complete next month. GM Real Estate, Cushman & Wakefield and JLL are joint leasing agents on Angel Court; Cushman & Wakefield represented Shanghai Pudong Development Bank; DeVono advised Rimes Technologies. Chinese banks coming to London Bank of China was the first major Chinese financial services institution to set up in London, taking 109,695 sq ft at 1 Lothbury, EC2, in 2009. Since then, other large state-controlled banks that have set up offices include: ● Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which leased 40,000 sq ft at 81 King William Street, EC4, in 2010 ● Agricultural Bank of China, which took 7,065 sq ft at 1 Bartholomew Lane, EC2, in 2010 ● China Construction Bank, which took 32,653 sq ft at 111 Old Broad Street, EC2, in 2014. Large state banks such as Export-Import Bank of China and China Merchant Bank have yet to establish non-representative offices here but have global expansion ambitions. China Minsheng Banking Corporation, a large private bank and an increasingly active buyer of London real estate, has also been looking at opportunities to set up its first office in the capital. • To send feedback, e-mail louisa.clarence-smith@estatesgazette.com or tweet @LouisaClarence or @estatesgazette