It has grown from coffee houses where men traded commodities by candlelight to the grand 17th century surroundings of the Royal Exchange, to a 1960s tower before moving into modern home on Paternoster Square. The London Stock Exchange has moved locations in its more than 400-year history, but it has always stayed within the boundaries of the City of London.

A land deal in 2019 indicated it might be leaving the City for the first time in its history. But now it seems that it might be staying in its traditional heartland after all.

A trio of heavyweight developers are on the shortlist to buy a site in Shoreditch in the borough of Hackney that had been touted as a potential new HQ for the London Stock Exchange Group in 2019.

Helical, Canary Wharf Group and Tishman Speyer are the parties left in the running to buy the site on Earl Street, just beyond the north west border of the City, CoStar reported. The site has the potential for a 450K SF scheme.

London Stock Exchange owns a 78K SF building on the site, and in 2019 appointed architect MAKE to come up with plans for a major redevelopment, which led to speculation that it could move its headquarters there.

But in November the group appointed CBRE to sell the site, after having previously said it had no intention of moving its HQ.

Oxford Properties, Stanhope and Great Portland Estates also bid on the site, CoStar said. If Canary Wharf were to buy the site, it would be only the third time it has developed a scheme outside its Docklands home, and its first new scheme outside of Docklands for more than five years.