Songbird Estates, the majority owner of the Canary Wharf Group, confirmed plans to raise more than £1bn to help repay debt and position the company for growth.

Songbird will use most of the money raised to repay an £880m senior loan with Citigroup that was due to expire next year, at a 5% discount. It would have been in breach of loan to value covenants when tested in November following the sharp drop in values in the market.

The money has been raised from existing shareholders, Qatar Holding, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds and GF Investments, as well as new investment from China Investment Corporation, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund.

Financial Times, The Times, Daily Telegraph