World’s largest trading floor on sale

The UBS trading floor in Stamford, Connecticut, US, once the world’s largest, had more than 5,000 traders slamming phones and kicking trash cans and now it is up for sale, according to a person with knowledge of the offering, as Bloomberg reported.

UBS, which had owned the building, is responsible for its maintenance until its lease expires at the end of next year, the person said.

Fast forward to today and the near-vacant building, larger than a football field (approximately 720,000-square-foot), has been put on the sale block, since the Swiss bank hasn’t been able to restock its trader ranks after the 2008 financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The UBS Center note fell into default when it failed to pay off by its October maturity date, according to Trepp, a Manhattan-based company which reported the marketing of the sale. The loan was transferred to special servicing in January 2016 for “imminent non-monetary default,” when UBS’ departure from the property became apparent, according to Trepp.
“Thus far, the borrower has received little to no interest from prospective replacement tenants despite active marketing,” Trepp officials wrote in their email. “In addition to tenant uncertainty regarding the UBS space, high vacancy levels that plagued the Stamford market presumably also contributed to the sharp decline in the collateral's value.

The property was underwritten at $262 million in 2003, but its value dropped to $44 million in a May appraisal, according to Trepp.

Many of the traders were moved back to Manhattan after the financial crisis as rents in the city fell.