Canary Wharf spreads its wings to grow by a third

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

Canary Wharf Group has taken full control of the Wood Wharf site next to the main Docklands estate after buying out fellow shareholder British Waterways and developer Ballymore for £90.4m. CWG's purchase of the semi-derelict, 4.8 million sq ft site increases the size of its 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.