Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a major business district in London and is the home to many financial institutions.

Location

Canary Wharf is located on the Isle of Dogs in East London and is accessible via the Canary Wharf and Heron Quays stops on the DLR tube line.

History

• 1981 - Margaret Thatcher's environment secretary Michael Heseltine set up the Docklands Development Corporation to breathe new light into London's ports. The idea of an office complex came from American bankers Michael von Clemm and G Ware Travelstead.
• 1987 - After realising they would not have the funding necessary for such a project, Travelstead asked Canadian tycoon Paul Reichmann and his company Olympia & York to take over the project. The Canadian befriended Thatcher who agreed to provide generous tax breaks and capital allowances to make the land more attractive to businesses.
• 1988 - Construction started.
• 1991 - Banks such as Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Citigroup and the Financial Services Authority move to the area, as do newspapers including the Telegraph, the Mirror and the Independent.
• 1992 - Olympia & York filed for bankruptcy and Canary Wharf was placed in administration.
• 1995 - Reichmann and a consortium of wealthy investors - including Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and American media mogul Larry Tisch - to buy Canary Wharf back from the banks for £800m. As a result of the consortium, the Canary Wharf Group was formed.
• 1997 - George Iacobescu was appointed CEO of the Group.
• 2004 - Canary Wharf Group was acquired by Songbird Estates, a consortium led by US investment bank Morgan Stanley, ending Reichmann's 20 year involvement with the area.
• 2009 - The Qatari Investment Authority became a major shareholder in Songbird, after the company almost collapsed under the weight of its debts.

Businesses

HSBC, 8 Canada Square

HSBC, Barclays and KPMG

3i Infotech | Adamson Associates | Allen & Overy | ANZ Bank | Article 25 | Bank of America | Barclays (Barclays Capital, Barclays PLC, Barclays Wealth Management) | BBVA | BGC Brokers L.P. | BP plc | Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd | Canary Wharf Group plc | Canary Wharf Management Ltd | Cantor Fitzgerald | Career Academies UK | Carlson Wagonlit Travel | CCT Venues | Chevron UK Ltd | China Construction Bank (London) Ltd | China Unicom | Citi (Citihub Ltd) | Clearstream International | Clifford Chance | Clydesdale Bank | Credit Suisse | Crossrail Ltd | De Vere Venues | Deutsche Börse AG | Digital Shadows Ltd | Diligence | Doctors of the World | Doyle Clayton | European Medicines Agency | eSpeed | Euler Hermes | Financial Conduct Authority | First Rate FX | Fitch Ratings | FTSE | GFT Global Markets UK Limited | Goldenberg Hehmeyer LLP | Growth Intelligence | Guardian Managers | Hatfield Philips | High Growth Technology Space | HSBC | i2 | IBM | Infosys | International Business Times | International Grains Council | International Sugar Organization | Interoute | Interquest | IQ Financial Markets | Ivaldi Capital | J.P.Morgan | Jones Lang LaSalle | K&B Accountancy Group | KPMG | Kusiri Ltd | Language Line | Level39 | LNR Partners Europe | London Brand Management | Mastercard | MetLife | Moody’s Investors Service Ltd | Morgan Stanley | MWB Business Exchange | National Bank of Abu Dhabi | Newland Chase | Ogilvy & Mather | Oracle Financial Services Software b.v. | People’s Daily Online UK Ltd | Pirean | PKF Littlejohn | Prolegal | Regus | Renaissance Capital | Runwild Media Group | Saxo Capital Markets UK Limited | Secure Trading | Servcorp | Shell International Limited | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | Skillsmatch | Skrill | State Street Bank & Trust | SunGard | Telecom2 Ltd | The Bank of New York Mellon | The Economist Group | The McGraw-Hill Companies | The Northern Trust Company | Thomson Reuters | Total | Trinity Mirror plc | Tube Lines | University of East London | WANO