Telegraph bidder and US billionaire Ken Griffin is dramatically expanding the size of his hedge fund’s London headquarters.
US hedge fund Citadel and its sister market maker Citadel Securities, founded by Mr Griffin, are reportedly preparing to move into British Land’s new flagship skyscraper.
The companies have agreed to lease 250,000 sq ft of office space in 2 Finsbury Avenue in the City of London, with options to lease another 130,000 sq ft.
The deal means that Citadel and Citadel Securities will occupy at least a third of the 750,000 sq ft office building.
British Land’s new dual high-rise skyscraper, comprising a 36-storey east tower and 21-storey west tower, is currently under construction and is set to be completed in 2027.
Citadel, one of America’s largest US hedge funds with $58bn (£46.5bn) under management, was founded by Mr Griffin in 1990. He is currently chief executive and head of investment of the firm.
In 2001, the American billionaire founded Citadel Securities, an electronic trading firm which buys up millions of trades and sells them onto the market for profit.
Mr Griffin and his investment partner Sir Paul Marshall, the co-founder of hedge fund Marshall Wace and a joint-owner of GB News, are among the potential suitors to buy The Telegraph.
Sir Paul has been among the most active bidders since the takeover attempt by UAE-backed fund RedBird IMI was blocked last month.
The pair are believed to have an appetite to pay more than £600m for The Telegraph and The Spectator.
Citadel’s new building is significantly larger than its current 150,000 sq ft base in Deka’s Moor House at 120 London Wall.
The expansion signals an increased desire among US private equity buyers to continue buying undervalued UK companies in take-private deals, delisting them from London’s stock market.
Gerald Beeson, chief operating officer at Citadel, said that the new building would benefit “the exceptional talent we attract to our firm as we continue to grow our presence in London”.
The building, which is fully powered by electricity, is part of British Land’s joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund to transform the Broadgate area.
Citadel’s new London headquarters is the latest purchase in Mr Griffin’s record-breaking real estate buying spree.
In 2019, he bought a $122m mansion near Buckingham Palace that once belonged to former French president Charles de Gaulle, in what was then the most expensive London house sale in a decade.
The 55-year-old tycoon has also broken real estate records after spending hundreds of millions of dollars buying homes in New York, Chicago and Miami.
Mr Griffin is currently building a $1bn mega-estate in Florida’s Palm Beach, in what is believed to be the most expensive home on earth.
He also reportedly owns property in Florida’s Indian Creek, an exclusive man-made island dubbed the “Billionaire Bunker” which includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump and DJ David Guetta among its residents.