An Indian billionaire has purchased Great Scotland Yard – the home of the Metropolitan Police until 1890 – from Galliard Group for £110m. The building is currently in the process of being turned into an exclusive five-star hotel.
Yusuffali Kader, who runs the Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate Lulu Group International, will take ownership of the historic venue once the conversion process is complete.
The site in Whitehall is already 30% complete after Galliard purchased the 125-year lease for the Edwardian, grade II-listed building in 2013.
Previously the headquarters of the Met Police for sixty-one years, it has also been used as the headquarters for the British Army Recruitment Office and Royal Military Police. Up until 2004, it was being used as the Ministry of Defence Library.
One of India’s richest men, Kader oversees the wide array of interests of the Lulu Group, which range from supermarkets to food processing.
Set to open its doors in the first part of 2017, the 92,000 square foot hotel will be known as The Great Scotland Yard. The most expensive suite could cost as much as £10,000 per night. Steigenberger Hotel Group has been contracted by Lulu to operate the luxury venue once it opens.
The Great Scotland Yard will include seven storeys and two basement levels. Work on the interior will start in March next year.
“All that has been retained of the grand original Edwardian Great Scotland Yard building are the outer facades,” Don O’Sullivan, Managing Director at Galliard Homes, said. “The entire insides of the building have been ripped out, and Galliard Homes has dug down two levels underground to create a vast basement complex under the building. The building is also being extended to the rear and increased by several floors. This is a huge redevelopment project.”
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