FWD expands headquarters in biggest 2025 Hong Kong office lease

[HONG KONG] Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings signed a decade-long deal with Swire Properties to expand its headquarters in Hong Kong in the city’s biggest office lease transaction this year, the companies said.

The insurer is consolidating its space in the city by taking up 330,000 square feet (30,658 square metres) across 12 floors at Taikoo Place, becoming the largest tenant of the flagship office complex developed by Swire, according to a joint statement on Wednesday (Aug 27). Devon House, one of the towers at Taikoo Place, will be renamed FWD Tower next year.

The move “reflects our long-term commitment to the city’s role as a global financial hub”, said Ken Lau, FWD’s managing director of Greater China and Hong Kong chief executive officer.

Swire’s investment properties in Hong Kong also include Pacific Place, Cityplaza and Citygate, and span approximately 1.5 million square metres.

Cheaper office rents in Hong Kong are prompting some companies to expand or upgrade space. Jane Street Group and ExodusPoint Capital Management are among financial firms that recently signed leases in the city, where rents fell 2.5 per cent in the first half, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle report last month.

Insurance companies are the most willing to upsize their office space in the city, with 36 per cent of them looking to expand, followed by the technology, media and telecommunications sector, according to a Colliers survey in July. BLOOMBERG