27 Jul 2015
London crime landmark Great Scotland Yard to become five-star hotel in £110m deal
BY Jak Phillips
Great Scotland Yard, the famous former headquarters of London’s police force where criminals such as Jack the Ripper were investigated, is to become a five-star hotel having been bought by Indian billionaire Yusuffali Kader.
As part of the £110m (US$171m, €154m) deal, developer Galliard Homes will sell the historic property to Kader’s retail, hospitality and property conglomerate Lulu Group International once it has carried out a ‘lavish’ £50m (US$78m, €70m) refurbishment. Scheduled to open in Q1 2017, the hotel will be operated Steigenberger Hotel Group and will be known as The Great Scotland Yard.
The refurbished 92,000sq ft (8,547sq m) hotel will feature luxury bedrooms costing up to £10,000 (US$15,524, €14,027) per night, bars, restaurants, a library and a host of private dining and meeting suites. An adjoining Grade II-Listed Victorian townhouse will be incorporated into the hotel and will be used to create an entertaining suite.
The completed hotel will be seven-storeys high with two basement levels. It will retain the grand Edwardian Imperial red brick and stone facade with arched main entrance, ornate pediment and tall windows with feature brick and stone detailing. The interior design, to be led by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, will be “contemporary and stylish, providing a modern compliment to the Edwardian architecture.”
“This will be one of London’s most luxurious 5-star hotels and will be the result of one of Whitehall’s largest construction projects,” said Don O’Sullivan, managing director of Galliard Homes.
"All that has been retained of the grand original Edwardian Great Scotland Yard building are the outer facades. 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.”
O’Sullivan added that the property was nearly sold to the Malmaison Hotel Group last year, but with the deal was scuppered at the 11th hour after KSL Partners decided to sell Malmaison and Hotel du Vin UK to Frasers Hospitality for £363m (US$570m, €511m).
The Great Scotland Yard site has a fascinating history. Between 1829 and 1890 it formed part of the headquarters of the newly founded Metropolitan Police force. It was here that the famous Jack the Ripper crimes were investigated and Scotland Yard was made famous by novelists including Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
In 1910 the current Edwardian building was constructed on the site and served as the British Army Recruitment Office and Royal Military Police headquarters. It is here that Lord Kitchener famously told WWI recruits "Your Country Needs You". In 1982 a refurbishment introduced a new atrium and the building later became the Ministry of Defence Library until 2004.
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