LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Property values in London's

Canary Wharf financial district fell by 1.2 billion pounds

($1.50 billion) over the past year, led by a decline in the

value of its office buildings, the landlord said in annual

results published on Thursday.

Canary Wharf Group - which is joint owned by investors

Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority - said in

its 2023 earnings that its overall property portfolio declined

in value to 6.8 billion pounds from 8 billion.

Office buildings accounted for most of the decline, tumbling

in value by more than 900 million pounds, the company said,

adding that the "fair values" were determined by independent

external valuers.

Commercial real estate owners and developers have had a

punishing few years, as soaring debt costs and emptying

post-pandemic offices have combined to sour many property

investments.

Canary Wharf - which sprung up in the east of London in the

1980s to offer an alternative to the City of London - is home to

the likes of JP Morgan and Citi, but has been hit by

high-profile planned exits of key tenants including HSBC and law

firm Clifford Chance.

Other major financial institutions have opted to stay,

however, including Morgan Stanley and Barclays.

Canary Wharf has been developing thousands of homes and

building labs in an effort to revitalise the area and reduce its

reliance on offices.

The landlord also announced on Thursday that it had secured

553 million pounds of new loans and refinancings, as it looks to

tackle a 3.7 billion pound net debt pile.

Commercial property deals in Europe fell through in their

highest numbers since the global financial crisis in the first

quarter this year, MSCI said on Thursday, with sticky inflation

and interest rates cooling hopes for a quick recovery.

Canary Wharf said on Thursday occupancy rates for its

offices stood at 91.1% in 2023, down from 92.5% in 2022.

($1 = 0.8016 pounds)