Construction company Metrovacesa is still in talks over returning the HSBC Tower in Canary Wharf in London back to the bank for €1,000 million euros, after yesterday the bridging loan of €810 million euros conceded by the bank to the company for the sale and lease operation ran out.

One specialised publication revealed that HSBC, which sold the tower for €1,600 million euros last year, is not prepared to give the company any more extra time for the loan, adding that the bank considered a worst case scenario of taking back the tower and at the same time retaining £300 million of equity in the company.

However that is not the only blot on the landscape that is being faced by Metrovacesa, which has total debts estimated at around seven billion euros, for it is still negotiating the terms of a four billion euro loan that is set to expire on December 30th, which could result in the company falling into the hands of its creditors.