Hong Kong developer Hysan’s Lee Garden Eight draws law firm out of Central: sources

Hong Kong law firm Woo Kwan Lee & Lo is reportedly relocating to Causeway Bay after more than five decades in Central’s Jardine House, reserving about 39,000 square feet in Hysan Development’s Lee Garden Eight in a major lease for the new commercial complex.

Market sources identified the firm as the incoming tenant at Lee Garden Eight, which is scheduled for completion this quarter. The firm will occupy an entire low to middle floor, according to local media reports. The firm declined to comment.

Founded in 1973, Woo Kwan Lee & Lo is a locally owned law firm with about 250 partners and staff. It provides legal services ranging from residential property transactions to cross-border corporate deals and disputes, according to its website.

Woo Kwan Lee & Lo was among the first tenants to move into Jardine House when the building opened in 1973 and has remained there for more than five decades, according to the landlord, Hongkong Land.

The Hong Kong Law Society’s directory lists Woo Kwan Lee & Lo’s address as the 25th and 26th floors of Jardine House. It also lists a branch office at Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wan Chai.

The reported space at Lee Garden Eight, which Hysan developed with partner Chinachem Group, was leased for about HK$50 (US$6.37) per square foot per month, according to local media reports. That compares with more than HK$90 at Jardine House. Hongkong Land would not comment on individual tenants, a spokesperson said.

The deal adds to Hysan’s efforts to attract financial and professional services tenants to Lee Garden Eight, as landlords seek to fill new office space amid uneven demand across Hong Kong’s commercial districts.

The leasing campaign for the 1.1 million square foot office, retail and community complex has already secured a major commitment from ZA Bank, which agreed in September to take about 45,000 square feet across four floors in Tower 3 for its new headquarters. The digital bank expects to move in during 2027.

Hysan has been courting fintech and other digital economy companies to strengthen the tenant mix at the development. The building’s tenant portfolio was becoming stronger, said Ricky Lui, Hysan’s executive director and chief operating officer, in September. Financial services, professional services and co-working operators accounted for roughly equal shares of the tenant mix at Lee Garden Eight, which had reached double-digit occupancy at the time, Lui said.

In September, the overall vacancy rate for grade-A offices in Hong Kong dropped to the lowest level since May 2023, led by leasing activity in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, according to property consultancy JLL. But the rate in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai rose to 10.3 per cent in September from 9.7 per cent in August.

Hysan’s overall office portfolio was 93 per cent occupied at the end of June, down from 94 per cent six months earlier, according to the developer. Office turnover fell 1.3 per cent in the first half to HK$694 million, while rental reversions remained negative, it said.