London’s landmark Gherkin office tower has been placed into receivership by its creditors, accountancy firm and joint receivers Deloitte said on Thursday, paving the way for a possible partial sale of the skyscraper.
Germany’s IVG Immobilien, which co-owns the 40-story tower with Evans Randall Ltd, filed for insolvency last year after years of cost overruns and mounting debt.
One of Germany’s best known property firms, IVG sought protection last year from its creditors after failing to reach an agreement over the restructuring of its debt. It has since agreed a debt-for-equity swap with its creditors.
Photo: Bloomberg
Co-owner Evans Randall said on Thursday it was ready to invest further equity into the building, but the company had been unable to agree on a new financial structure with IVG due to the German partner’s financial situation.
“The Gherkin is a strong, well-let asset and one that we are firmly minded to continue our involvement in,” a Evans Randall spokesman said, adding that discussions were continuing.
Deloitte said that adverse interest rate and currency movements had caused the Gherkin’s total debt, which is held in multiple currencies such as the Swiss franc, to increase materially since it was first issued.
“The senior lenders were reluctant to appoint a receiver, but felt they had no choice due to the ongoing defaults, which have remained uncured for over five years,” joint receiver and Deloitte partner Neville Kahn said.
There were also “concerns that the borrowers’ lack of equity in the transaction had caused their incentives to become misaligned with the lenders,” he said.
An icon of London’s skyline with its distinctive curved glass shape, which gave it its Gherkin nickname, the skyscraper was built by reinsurer Swiss Re in 2004 and was sold to IVG and Evans Randall in 2007 for ￡600 million (US$1 billion). In 2012, IVG said it was valued at ￡470 million to ￡531 million.
The building remains well-leased and in “trophy condition,” Deloitte said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Standard Chartered Taiwan on March 26 announced that it has partnered with international fintech firm FinIQ to build an “Automated Structured Products Pricing Platform.” The bank is also introducing products from global issuers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC and BNP Paribas SA. The new platform enables an end-to-end process whereby it finds the most competitive pricing across multiple issuers in a matter of minutes, followed by automated documentation and transaction execution, which significantly shortens time-to-market and delivers a superior wealth management experience. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan CEO Anthony Yu (游天立) said: “Standard Chartered is increasingly leveraging its wealth management
RSS