Canary Wharf originally housed cargo warehouses that catered to the docks and derived its name from trade with the Canary Islands. In the past, the docks were the busiest globally until containerisation led to their decline.

In 1981, the London Docklands Development Corporation initiated a project to rejuvenate the derelict London docks, covering an area of eight square miles. Initially, the focus was on redeveloping light industrial schemes, and the primary occupant of Canary Wharf was Limehouse Studios, a television production company.

In 1984, while searching for a location for a client’s food processing plant, Michael von Clem, the head of the investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston, visited the Docklands. He discovered vacant land and, considering the possibility of relocating City of London offices, reached out to his counterpart at Morgan Stanley. They agreed that a substantial development with critical mass would be necessary and acknowledged the need for a new Tube line to make the project viable.

The Canadian developer Olympia and York took on the project and crucially agreed to cover 50% of the proposed cost of extending the Jubilee Line. Construction of Canary Wharf commenced in 1988, with the completion of the first phase in 1992.

However, the property market experienced a collapse in the early 1990s, resulting in a decline in tenant demand, and the Jubilee Line extension faced delays due to Olympia & York’s collapse. The project went into administration, and for a while, Canary Wharf appeared destined to become a deserted development accessible only via the Docklands Light Railway.

In December 1995, an international consortium, supported by the former owners of Olympia & York, acquired the project. At this point, the working population was approximately 13 000, and over half of the office space remained unoccupied. The pivotal moment in Canary Wharf’s recovery came with the long-awaited commencement of the Jubilee Line construction, a project the government aimed to complete in time for the Millennium celebrations. From that moment, prospective tenants began to view Canary Wharf as an alternative to traditional office locations. Subsequent phases were finalised, and new phases were added.

Today, Canary Wharf thrives with major banks and news media companies as tenants. The immediate consequence of Canary Wharf’s development was the escalation of land values in the surrounding area.

Currently, Canary Wharf is connected to central London through the Canary Wharf DLR station, established in 1991, the extension of the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf tube station, inaugurated in 2000 and the 2022 Elizabeth Line.

Additionally, a river boat services from Canary Waterside connects Canary Wharf to the City of London and Greenwich.