United States financial giant JP Morgan has signed a 10-year agreement with Hongkong Land for the top 11 office floors at Chater House in Central.
Under a formal agreement signed yesterday, JP Morgan was committed to leasing 207,000 square feet in the 28-storey building to be completed in the middle of next year, at a monthly rent of more than HK$60 per square foot.
The group will take up the space in July next year and enjoy a six-month rent-free period to fit-out the premises leased on a 'shell-and-core' basis.
The deal represents a relocation rather than expansion for the US investment bank as it will hand back its existing premises, 120,000 sq ft in Jardine House and 80,000 sq ft in Exchange Square to Hongkong Land.
Hongkong Land chief executive Nicholas Sallnow-Smith said the lease was a statement of confidence in Hong Kong's Central business district and in Hong Kong as a regional financial centre.
The JP Morgan move has boosted the lease commitment for retail and office space in Chater House to more than 50 per cent. The building, formerly known as 11 Chater Road, provides a total of 483,500 sq ft.
JP Morgan Asia Pacific chairman Ralph Parks said with the new Chater House space the group would be able to consolidate most of its business areas in Central after its recent mergers.