Metrovacesa, the Spanish property company, is struggling to find a buyer for a part sale of the HSBC skyscraper in Canary Wharf with just weeks to go before time runs out on a vital refinancing of the loan used to buy the building last year.

If Metrovacesa continues to struggle to find the finance, then HSBC is looking at ways to retake control of the building, potentially by agreeing a deal before November to buy back the building itself or finding a third-party investor among its clients.