Met HQ sold for £370m to Abu Dhabi investor
New Scotland Yard, the home of the Metropolitan Police, has been sold to a group of Abu Dhabi investors for £370m, in a dramatic shake-up of the Met’s estate.
The Abu Dhabi Financial Group paid £120m more than the asking price for the 1.7-acre site in Victoria, which it plans to turn into a luxury development.
The 1960s office block has been home to the Met since 1967. It is being sold as part of a strategy by City Hall to sell down one-third of the Met’s estate and raise £500m in savings over the next two years.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said the proceeds from the sale would be used to kit out police officers with the latest technology such as tablets, smartphones and body cameras to help bobbies “fight crime in the 21st century”.
Some of the cash will also be used to set up a dedicated museum showcasing artefacts and policing memorabilia dating back to the formation of the Met in 1829. This collection of artefacts is currently hidden away from public view inside the Met’s infamous Black Museum at New Scotland Yard.
“This landmark deal allows us to preserve the past whilst giving today’s Met a vital cash boost so our officers can go on keeping London safe.” Johnson said.
The Abu Dhabi Financial Group saw off 10 other competitors to secure the landmark site.
The Middle Eastern firm is a shareholder in Northacre, the listed developer behind the luxury flats near Hyde Park known as The Lancasters. It is also building a scheme at 1 Palace Street, near Buckingham Palace.
The force is set to relocate to the Curtis Green building on the Embankment from 2016.
IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME FOR UAE FUNDS…
The New Scotland Yard sale is a marque deal for the Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFB) and underscores the growing penchant of investors from the Gulf state to invest in the UK trophy assets.
ADFB, a relatively young firm, established in 2011, is led by former engineer and hedge fund investor Jassim Alseddiqi and is currently working on the development of 1 Palace Street, a residential development close to Buckingham Palace.
It also spun off its hedge fund Qannas Investments on London’s Alternative Investment market in 2012.
The group is one of several large investors from the United Arab Emirates to dip their toes into UK investments.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the state’s sovereign wealth fund, currently owns London’s upmarket Lansborough Hotel and co-owns London’s Gatwick Airport through a consortium of investors. The fund also used to own Devonshire Square in the City.
Its neighbour, Emirates Airline-owner Investment Corporation of Dubai, meanwhile, owns most of stock exchange operator Borse Dubai, a 20.6 per cent owner of the London Stock Exchange.
It also owns listed property developer Emaar, which helped to bring one of the tallest buildings in the world, the Burj Khalifa, into existence.