New York law firm White & Case opens 3 floors at Hongkong Land’s York House as tenants cherry pick from Central’s office market slump

White & Case opened a 25,000-square foot (2,300 square metres) office across three floors late last month in York House, part of Hongkong Land’s Landmark complex

The lease marked the firm’s return as a Hongkong Land tenant, after spending 15 years down Queens Road Central at Central Development Limited ’s Central Tower

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Pedestrians cross Queen’s Road Central in the Central district of Hong Kong on January 24, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg.

Published: 8:30am, 4 May 2022Updated: 9:41am, 4 May 2022

Office tenants are tiptoeing back to Hong Kong’s Central district, picking up choice commercial real estate space in what used to be the world’s costliest urban centre as the city wins the battle to put the latest wave of pandemic under control.

White & Case, a New York-headquartered law firm with 45 offices across 31 markets, opened a 25,000-square foot (2,300 square metres) office across three floors late last month in York House, leased for an undisclosed price at Hongkong Land’s Landmark commercial complex in Central.

The lease marked the law firm’s return as a Hongkong Land tenant, after spending 15 years further down Queen’s Road Central at Central Development Limited’s Central Tower. Before moving to Central Tower in 2007, White & Case occupied 17,000 sq ft of space at Gloucester Tower, one of the three office buildings in the Landmark complex.

“We are pleased to return to the Hongkong Land Central portfolio as we make room for our expanding team and future growth, [where] we look forward to continuing our focus on excellence and serving our clients as we deepen our expertise and presence in the market,” said Eugene Man, the executive partner at White & Case’s Hong Kong office. “York House will provide our employees and clients with unparalleled access to corporate and market leaders in one of the world’s leading international financial hubs.”

An undated view of York House, one of three office buildings at Hongkong Land’s Landmark commercial complex in Hong Kong’s Central. The Landmark Atrium shopping centre is under the office towers. Photo: Hongkong Land.

Office rent has plunged by 27 per cent from its peak in late 2021 in Hong Kong, according to Morgan Stanley’s estimate. Prices are likely to remain soft as 4.6 million sq ft of new grade A office supply are likely to be added to Hong Kong this year, the most since 6.8 million sq ft were added in 1998.

Central’s office rental charges, still among the highest in the world, dipped by 0.1 per cent in March from February, according to JLL. Overall office rents across the city fared worse, with a 0.2 per cent drop in the same month.