One of my favourite sports quotes is from Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky: “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it’s been.”
To succeed in any walk of life you need to anticipate the future, and that’s as true in real estate development as it is in ice hockey.
London is undergoing constant reinvention as the needs of its diverse, growing population change. Thirty-five years ago, Canary Wharf 1.0 started its transformation into a new financial centre. Canary Wharf was noted for its investment in striking architectural design, infrastructure and transport.
At Canary Wharf Group, we have always been pioneers, open to change and unperturbed by challenges.
The Isle of Dogs was a wasteland when we started and many people said Canary Wharf would never work; no one would relocate to the Docklands.
The critics and sceptics were wrong. We believe they will be again.
The news that HSBC intends to leave for smaller premises in the City triggered gloomy headlines, fuelled by concerns about the economy and the impact of rising interest rates.
Eight years ago, we recognised that Londoners increasingly wanted to live and work in vibrant communities with green space, leisure facilities, shops, restaurants, schools and medical services — all within easy reach.
It’s why we embarked on Canary Wharf 2.0, building a new residential community as part of a mixed-use neighbourhood. Today more than 3500 residents call the estate home.
Last week we have completed financing for the next phase of our residential area — 3600 new homes. The £535 million financing is testament to the quality of our buildings and the fact that people are not short of options for things to do.
We have more than 300 retailers, 70-plus restaurants, cafés and bars, and they are busy — Dishoom, Hawksmoor, Fairgame, mallow and Fish Game are among the new signings — with more coming.
Our residents and our commuter population is growing significantly. Transport for London data shows weekday entry and exits higher than pre-pandemic levels and weekend data twice as high as pre-pandemic levels.
Three years ago, we set out Canary Wharf 3.0, focused on three areas.
The first focus was on making nature integral to the estate and I am proud of our partnership with the Eden Project, which encourages biodiversity and will introduce a green-blue spine through the centre of Canary Wharf.
Secondly, we wanted more amenities. We have an open-air cinema, openwater swimming, Europe’s fastest go-karts, clay shooting, basketball courts and, very soon, central London’s largest padel centre, with eight courts.
And third, attracting new industries and to make Canary Wharf home to Europe’s leading life sciences community.
Genomics England, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, NHS Transformation Unit and Barts Health are early tenants and we recently opened the Innovation Centre, with 40,000 sq ft of wet lab space, with demand from other life science firms.
In all, we have under construction 2.3 million sq ft of modern, sustainable, commercial and residential space, the biggest scheme in the country and the strongest measure of our confidence.
Through the transformation of Canary Wharf, our flexible commercial space is in a location with great transport links, including the Elizabeth Line.
We’re ensuring Canary Wharf’s future will have an increasingly varied community of businesses, retailers, residents, and visitors, living and working alongside nature.
