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By Sally Peck
While other projects in the City have been mothballed, construction on the 310-metre skyscraper, which shoots up from Victorian railway arches in Southwark, has charged through the economic slump. It will offer 27 floors of offices (as yet, unleased), 10 luxury flats (as yet, unsold), and a 200-room five-star hotel and spa. The recession-defying Shard owes its existence to the Qatari royal family. In 2008, when the original British backers ran out of cash, the
"It's difficult to get speculative development finance for any buildings - that's been the case post-Lehmans," said Damian Corbett, of estate agents Jones Lang La-Salle. "The Qataris have been very good to the market."
The Qatari royal family does not have a monopoly on iconic London buildings: Gulf neighbour Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia counts the Savoy among his investments. The Dorchester is owned by
Bush House, home to the BBC World Service, has been owned since 1989 by a Japanese property company, a reminder of the time when Japan, before its long slump, was buying up assets around the world.
But while other sovereign funds have parked their money in more anonymous commercial buildings, Qatar has been drawn to the most high-profile properties.
The Shard joins Harrods, the
Experts have suggested that the desired returns on Qatar's investments are not solely financial. Dr Kristian Ulrichsen, a Research Fellow at the LSE, said that by investing in London property, the emirate was seeking to re-brand itself and diversifying its security through soft diplomacy.
Qatar was a British protectorate until 1971. Most members of its royal family spent parts of their youth in London, or went to Sandhurst. They are therefore familiar with Britain's top brands - and want to buy association with them. "This high-profile, iconic acquisition of global brands fits into their strategy to get everyone to talk about Qatar," said Dr Ulrichsen.
"But it's also a diversification of security. They realise that the more embedded they become in people's consciousness, the harder it will be for people not to come to their aid if anything happens in the Gulf."
Shard
80 per cent-owned by entities backed by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, 20 per cent-owned by London-based developer
310 metres
Cost: valued at 2 billion pounds in 2008
Canary Wharf Tower (One Canada Square)
Owned by
235 metres
Cost: 500 million pounds to build in 1991
Heron Tower (110 Bishopsgate)
Owned by
202 metres (230 metres including mast)
Cost: 500 million pounds
Tower 42 (formerly NatWest tower)
Owned by Nathan Kirsh, South African businessman
183 metres
Cost: bought in December, 2011, for 282.5 million pounds
Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe)
Owned by
180 metres
Cost: sold for 630 million pounds in 2007
O2/Millenium dome
Owned by
50 metres (to top of dome)
Cost: part of a 600 million pound development
London Eye
Owned by
135 metres
Cost: 70 million pounds to build in 1999
50 metres (to top of dome)
Cost: part of a 600 million pound development
Battersea Power Station
Controlled by creditors of
103 metres
Cost: 400 million pounds in 2006.
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