Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East have bought a landmark West End building from the Crown Estate. Financial Times
A consortium backed by Istithmar, the property arm of the Dubai government, paid £130m for the 130-year-old Metropole building in London which was part of the Queen’s property portfolio.
The Metropole sale comes just a week after the Qatari government completed a £959m deal to acquire the Chelsea Barracks, the former military headquarters near Sloane Square, in a joint venture with developer Candy & Candy.
The Metropole was bought by a consortium led by International Hotel Investments, in which Istithmar Hotels is the principal shareholder. Istithmar is part of Dubai World, the company controlled by the ruling family, which bought P&O.
The building, which opened as a hotel in 1883 but was occupied as offices by the Ministry of Defence until 2004, will be converted into a luxury hotel and residential development.