Boris Johnson has said that the only place in London where you can’t see the Shard is when you’re standing on its viewing platform. Renzo Piano’s shimmering skyscraper is the tallest building in Western Europe towering 1,020 ft over the capital. It was developed by Seller Property but it would not have been possible without Qatari investment.
Qatari investors have also played a significant role in other projects in the capital, including the development of Canary Wharf.
Over the past few decades it has been transformed from a run-down riverside district of wharfs and quays into a busy financial centre with 15 million sq feet of offices spread over 97 acres. It also has a wide selection of retail and leisure properties to attract visitors.
Some of the major players in the business and finance markets have a presence there, including Barclays, HSBC, JPMorgan, Fitch, and Thomson Reuters.
The busy train station operates below ground in a large mall. Canary Wharf has put 105,000 people to work and this figure is predicted to double by 2025, as the residential population in the area increases.
Qatari investors have been involved in Canary Wharf since 2004 through the property investment vehicle Songbird. It owns the majority of the shares of CWG and Qatar Holdings, which is the largest shareholder in Songbird, owns 27 per cent.
The country helped to keep the project afloat through the global property crash in 2009-10 by providing £150 million of capital in preference shares. Songbird is now in the enviable position of being debt-free, and CWG has £2 billion of non-recourse debt ring-fenced from Songbird.
Qatar has other property interests in London other than The Shard and Canary Wharf. CWG and Qatari Diar are in a joint venture to develop the area around the Shell Centre on the South Bank for a mixed-use commercial and residential development.
Qatari investment is also helping to deliver the Chelsea Barracks project, the One Hyde Park development, and the redevelopment of the United States embassy in Mayfair.
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