The Sir Edwin Lutyens-designed HSBC branch on the corner of Princes Street and Poultry in the City of London has a new owner who could converted it into a luxury hotel. The Times

The buyer, a private Russian developer, is currently weighing up the options for the listed former Midland Bank headquarters.

The marbled hall could make an ideal hotel lobby and the building could accommodate a hundred or so rooms.

It would follow a string of hotels that have opened in the City in recent years, such as Threadneedles around the corner, which is also a former banking hall.