Bank of America set to sign lease at Cheung Kong Center
Deal will involve 150,000 sq ft of office space, as competition among Central landlords increases
Bank of America is close to agreeing to lease almost 150,000 square feet of prime office space in Cheung Kong Center, as competition among landlords in Central increases with rising vacancy rates.
Under the plan, the bank will occupy seven floors in the Center, according to two people familiar with the transaction.
The current lease of the bank's Merrill Lynch unit in Citibank Plaza is said to expire in September.
Prime office vacancy rates in Central rose to 4.9 per cent at the end of November from 3.6 per cent a year earlier, according to broker Jones Lang LaSalle.
PricewaterhouseCoopers last year moved its operations at the Center to other offices, while Deutsche Bank in 2010 completed its relocation to the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon.
"Even with rising vacancies in Central, there aren't that many choices for tenants looking for such a big space in one building," said Simon Lo, the director of research and advisory at property broker Colliers International.
"We're also seeing signs that the drop in vacancies is stabilising."