Clifford Chance's (CC) search for a tenant to take on a substantial chunk of its Canary Wharf headquarters has hit a setback after prospective tenant Transport for London (TfL) opted for a different location. 

TfL put in an offer in March to take over around 220,000 sq ft of CC's headquarters at 10 Upper Bank Street, which is the equivalent to six of the building's 30 floors. 

The capital's transport authority has now reportedly taken a pre-let at the International Quarter in Stratford – a joint venture between Lend Lease and London and Continental Railways.

CC could have saved millions in rental income if TfL had agreed to take the space. Property advisers CBRE and GVA have listed rental rates on the building at £39.50 per sq ft per annum. Based on these rates, CC would have saved around £8.7m a year if TfL had rented all six floors.

CC has been hunting for a subtenant to fill the empty space since the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) moved out in the months following the 2012 games.

LOCOG took up 135,000 sq ft when it moved into the building in 2010.

The firm also sublets space in its building to MasterCard, Infosys, Total and the FTSE Group.

In a similarly worded statement to that issued by the firm when TfL was still mulling taking the space in March, a CC spokesperson said: "It has always been our policy to market excess space at our 10 Upper Bank Street offices in Canary Wharf. We have a landmark building in a major business centre and shall continue to market our excess space."