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The Qatar Investment Authority is considering abandoning the sale of 1 Cabot Square, an office building in London’s Canary Wharf financial district leased to Credit Suisse Group AG, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
QIA was reviewing the sale plan even before the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, the people said, asking not to be identified because the sale is not completed. The sovereign wealth fund is still in talks with at least one potential buyer, another person said. The 546,114-square-foot office block, was put on the market earlier this year, is valued at about £450 million ($594 million). It was the first major property offered for sale by QIA since its creation in 2005.
The plan to sell came as QIA decided to boost assets in Asia and the U.S. Diversification “is a key objective established by QIA’s strategic review,” the fund said in a statement in September. The fund said last year it was planning to invest $35 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.
Qatar doesn’t intend to allocate any new money to QIA this year or withdraw funds and is instead relying on asset sales and dividend income for new investments, Bloomberg News reported in May.