Spreading wings: Canary Wharf to grow by a third

Canary Wharf's landlord ushered in a new phase in its sprawling estate's evolution today with a land deal which could eventually bring another 20,000 workers to the Docklands.

Canary Wharf Group has taken full control of the Wood Wharf site next to the main Docklands estate after buying out fellow shareholders British Waterways and developer Ballymore for £90.4 million in total. The purchase of the 4.8 million sq ft site increases the size of CWG's estate by almost a third. The masterplan for Wood Wharf, designed by Richard Rogers and featuring six apartment blocks, three office buildings and an ecology park, was approved in 2009.

The developer is likely to push forward with the flats first and is unlikely to build new offices without securing major pre-lets. A CWG spokesman said: "This is a 10-year project but it will be demand-led and when Crossrail comes through in 2018 it will add another dimension to the area."