Nestle, which has offices in PCCW Tower, is moving to Manhattan Place in Kowloon Bay next month, before its lease expires at the end of November.
The Swiss-based food producer would have had to pay more than double its current rent to stay put, a company source said, and had elected to move instead.
Nestle's rent at Manhattan Place was comparable to what it was paying now in Taikoo Place, the source said. Manhattan Place is a new grade-A office building offering sea views.
Another source with a tenant in neighbouring Dorset House said he had heard of at least one other company in Taikoo Place opting not to renew its lease and to move offices because of high rents.
Analysts said the increase in rents in Taikoo Place reflected the rental rally in the past few years but the upward cycle has reached its end.
'Of course, current tenants with upcoming lease expiries or rent reviews should be expecting increases in rent [compared with three years ago]. Rents in Taikoo Place in the third quarter of 2005 were averaging around the low HK$20s per square foot a month,' said Benedict Ma, associate director of Knight Frank's corporate advisory.