Qatar SWF buys Credit Suisse London HQ

DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Qatar's sovereign wealth

fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) said it had completed the

acquisition of Credit Suisse's headquarters in London and leased

it back to the bank.

The 546,114 square-feet building at One Cabot Square in

Canary Wharf was leased to the bank under a long-term agreement

that runs until 2034, Qatar Holding, the foreign investment arm

of QIA said in a statement on its website on Monday.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The authority was to pay 330 million pounds ($517 million)

for the property, with a separate leaseback agreement to be put

in place with the Swiss lender, two sources told Reuters last

month.

QIA holds a 6 percent stake in Credit Suisse and owns

shares in Songbird, the majority owner of Canary Wharf Group.

Gulf-government backed funds have been on a buying spree in

Europe and are eyeing investments in real estate, infrastructure

and other sectors.

Qatari Diar, a property arm of the fund, along with Canary

Wharf, won a 300-million-pound deal to redevelop the Shell

Centre in London that houses the Royal Dutch Shell's

London headquarters in July.

Qatar has other high-profile investments in London, including

the U.S. embassy in Grosvenor Square and Harrods department

store.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)