Artist Square Towers connects to Sun Hung Kai’s other West Kowloon’s projects by walkway (Image: SHKP)
With UBS set to move into Sun Hung Kai Properties’ International Gateway Centre (IGC) later this year, JPMorgan has signed on as the anchor tenant at Artist Square Towers, an upcoming project by the developer in the same West Kowloon precinct, leasing more than one-third of its office space.
The US finance giant has committed to leasing six connected floors at the EArtist Square Towers and West Towers of Sun Hung Kai’s Artist Square Towers, taking up more than one-third of the office space in the project, which connects to the International Gateway Centre by an architecturally designed walkway, the Hong Kong-listed developer announced on Friday.
The US investment bank will relocate its Kowloon office from Quayside in Kwun Tong to Artist Square Towers in the latter half of 2028, according to an internal JP Morgan memo seen by Mingtiandi. The bank, which is taking up around 250,000 square feet (23,226 square metres) in its new West Kowloon home under a ten-year lease, said it would also maintain its presence in Central.
“We are honoured to have J.P. Morgan as the anchor tenant of this landmark project. Their long-term commitment underscores West Kowloon as Hong Kong’s Central 2.0. It also stands as a resounding vote of confidence in Hong Kong’s enduring strength as a premier international financial centre,” SHKP chairman and managing director Raymond Kwok said.
Harbourfront Hub
Situated on Austin Road West in West Kowloon Cultural District, Artist Square Towers comprises three harbourfront blocks – the East Tower and West Tower, each of 18 storeys, and the 16-storey South Tower. Targeted for completion in 2027, the development offers about 672,000 square feet of office space and 27,000 square feet of retail space.
SHKP chairman Raymond Kwok locking in more banking tenants
JP Morgan has committed to leasing the top six floors in the East and West Towers, with the two blocks linked across the top eight floors. Rental details for the deal were not disclosed, while space in the neighbouring IGC reportedly leases for HK$50 to HK$55 per square foot per month. Leasing rates at Sun Hung Kai’s International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon average between HK$75 to HK$80 per square foot, according to agent listings.
JP Morgan’s had signed a lease to relocate much of its backoffice operations from Central to The Quayside, a joint development by Link REIT and Nan Fung Group in Kowloon East’s Kwun Tong in 2016, when Hong Kong office rents were reaching their peak. The bank currently occupies approximately 300,000 square feet of space in the office block, which bears its name, according to market sources. Rents at The Quayside average approximately HK$28 per square foot, according to JLL.
Mainland Access
“The relocation appears to be driven by pull factors rather than push ones, with the new premises in West Kowloon offering direct access to the high-speed rail station linking Hong Kong to mainland China, while featuring the company as an anchor tenant in a landmark development alongside other global banks,” Bobby Mak, real estate valuer at Hong Kong-based CHFT Advisory and Appraisal, told Mingtiandi.
The relocation will provide the bank’s employees with access to retail amenities and convenient transport links – including the MTR’s Kowloon and Austin stations, the Airport Express, WestK Ferry and the high-speed rail to mainland China – the JP Morgan said in its internal memo.
SHKP won the right to develop and operate Artist Square Towers for a period of 47 years under a build-operate-transfer arrangement with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority in 2022.
The project adds to SHKP’s expanding West Kowloon portfolio, which includes the IGC above the High Speed Rail West Kowloon Terminus as well as the International Commerce Centre above the Kowloon MTR station. All three complexes are connected by covered footbridges.
JP Morgan occupies about 200,000 square feet in Hongkong Land’s Chater House in Central with rents at the 30-storey tower ranging from HK$125 to HK$138 per square, according to agent listings.
Bankers Relocate
This latest deal makes JP Morgan the latest international bank to relocate to West Kowloon, with Sun Hung Kai last month having handed over UBS Tower at the IGC to the Swiss bank.
With UBS taking up a full 14-storey building in the three building complex, AXA Insurance was reported last month to be in talks to lease three floors in the IGC.
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