Abu Dhabi — Lulu Group International announced on Sunday it has acquired Great Scotland Yard, home of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, in a £110 million (Dh627 million) deal.
The group is set to develop a 92,000-square-foot, five-star hotel within the building after signing an agreement with Galliard Homes, a London-based property company.
In a statement issued by Lulu, the Abu Dhabi-based retail group said the hotel is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017, and will provide employment for up to 250 full-time staff. Construction on site is now 30 per cent complete, with the interior fit schedule to start in March 2016.
“We have been actively evaluating investment opportunities that both grow our footprint and contribute to the further development of London. [Our] interest in the iconic Great Scotland Yard is a step in that direction,” said Adeeb Ahmad, managing director of Twenty14 Holdings, the hospitality arm of Lulu Group.
The project is Lulu’s second investment in London, after acquiring stake in East India Company, a trading company, for around $85 million.
The acquisition makes Lulu the second Abu Dhabi-based company to invest in the Metropolitan Police’s offices after Abu Dhabi Financial Group announced its acquisition of the New Scotland Yard in a £371 million agreement in December 2014.
