Moody’s quits Canary Wharf

Moody’s is to leave its office in Canary Wharf in favour of new premises in the City, making it the latest high-profile financial tenant to abandon London’s Docklands for the Square Mile. 

The credit rating agency confirmed it has selected a new space near St Paul’s Cathedral, subject to completing the deal for the new premises. The company plans to move in 2026 when the lease on its office in One Canada Square expires. 

Moody’s departure from Canary Wharf after more than 15 years follows the decision last summer by HSBC to move its headquarters from the 42-storey tower it has occupied since 2002, also in favour of the City. 

The Wharf’s large office towers have fallen out of favour with some tenants since the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, other big tenants have stayed put. Barclays late last year reached a deal to stay in its Canary Wharf headquarters until at least 2039. Morgan Stanley is expected to confirm shortly that it will also remain in its offices. Fintech Revolut is in talks to take new space for its headquarters in the Wharf. 

Moody’s said it has selected 10 Gresham Street for its new office, subject to final terms. It said the new office “will help us deliver a world class experience for our employees, with office space that fosters connections between our teams and with our customers”. 

The company appointed Cushman & Wakefield to advise on its office space in July.

The rating agency moved to Canary Wharf in 2009, leasing six floors in One Canada Square, including space formerly occupied by the Telegraph, according to reports at the time. 

Seven floors in the 50-storey César Pelli-designed tower are currently listed for lease. 

Canary Wharf has pushed to diversify its estate to reduce its reliance on offices, adding life sciences tenants and building out its retail, leisure and hospitality portfolio. The number of visitors to the district has grown, and the estate now includes thousands of units of housing. 

Earlier this month, UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced Canary Wharf Group would receive a £118mn loan from a government housing infrastructure fund to support developing a life-sciences centre, a healthcare diagnostic facility and build up to 750 additional homes.

Canary Wharf’s owners Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority announced a £300mn equity infusion and a £100mn revolving credit facility for the company in October.

Canary Wharf Group declined to comment.