Vote of confidence for London as Morgan Stanley says it will stay at its Canary Wharf base until 2038

Morgan Stanley will remain in its Canary Wharf office until 2038, in a vote of confidence for London.

Chris Beatty, the bank’s chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the company “looks forward to witnessing first-hand the next phases of Canary Wharf’s evolution.”

Last June, HSBC said it would abandon its 45-storey skyscraper, one of the borough’s landmark buildings, for a smaller, lower building in the City of London.

The decision raised questions over whether Canary Wharf could continue to retain its biggest names, but in December Barclays also pledged to stay until 2039.

Many of London’s largest offices have emptied since the pandemic, with thousands of employees preferring hybrid working patterns.