BHP eyes new office space in London
by Jack Sidders,
2016-03-24 05:48:51.0
LONDON — BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, is close to signing a lease for a new London office that would be about half the size of its current premises, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The company, which is being advised by broker Cluttons, planned to rent 2,323m² at the Nova South project in London’s Victoria district, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is not public.
The project is being developed by Land Securities and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Spokesmen for BHP Billiton, Cluttons, Land Securities, and CPPIB declined to comment.
The slowdown in the Chinese economy that has damped demand for commodities has hit mining companies hard.
BHP Billiton had moved staff to other locations, which has reduced its requirement for office space in London, the people said.
The miner had been based at Neathouse Place in the same district since 1997, and now sublet about half the space in the property to other occupiers, the people said.
On the JSE, BHP fell 3.25% to R171.59, taking its drop in the past year to 37%.
Mining shares declined, as the prospect of US interest rate increases boosted the dollar for a fourth consecutive day, the longest winning streak in a month, and pushed down the prices of oil, gold and copper.
Deutsche Bank reiterated on Wednesday its rating on BHP’s shares as "hold", issuing a recommended target price of 900p, potentially meaning that there is an increase of 14% from Wednesday’s closing price in London of 789.20p.
Nomura Holdings, on the other hand, downgraded BHP Billiton from "buy" to "neutral" last week.
Bloomberg, Staff Writer
People walk through the foyer of the BHP Billiton headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, in this file picture. Picture: BLOOMBERG
LONDON — BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, is close to signing a lease for a new London office that would be about half the size of its current premises, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The company, which is being advised by broker Cluttons, planned to rent 2,323m² at the Nova South project in London’s Victoria district, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is not public.
The project is being developed by Land Securities and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Spokesmen for BHP Billiton, Cluttons, Land Securities, and CPPIB declined to comment.
The slowdown in the Chinese economy that has damped demand for commodities has hit mining companies hard.
BHP Billiton had moved staff to other locations, which has reduced its requirement for office space in London, the people said.
The miner had been based at Neathouse Place in the same district since 1997, and now sublet about half the space in the property to other occupiers, the people said.
On the JSE, BHP fell 3.25% to R171.59, taking its drop in the past year to 37%.
Mining shares declined, as the prospect of US interest rate increases boosted the dollar for a fourth consecutive day, the longest winning streak in a month, and pushed down the prices of oil, gold and copper.
Deutsche Bank reiterated on Wednesday its rating on BHP’s shares as "hold", issuing a recommended target price of 900p, potentially meaning that there is an increase of 14% from Wednesday’s closing price in London of 789.20p.
Nomura Holdings, on the other hand, downgraded BHP Billiton from "buy" to "neutral" last week.
Bloomberg, Staff Writer
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