Hong Kong developer snaps up London skyscraper in US$1.47b deal

Hong Kong

A HONG KONG property developer has confirmed the near completion of its almost US$1.5 billion purchase of London's "Cheesegrater" tower, as it takes advantage of the pound's slump to snap up addresses in the British capital.

CC Land's acquisition of the 224-metre-high Leadenhall Building, which earned its nickname from its wedge shape, is the biggest single property purchase in the UK since 2014, when a Qatari wealth fund bought London's HSBC Tower for £1.2 billion (about S$2.2 billion at current exchange rates).