A Middle Eastern retail conglomerate is under offer to buy Great Scotland Yard, the original home of the Metropolitan Police in London, for a price in excess of $145 million.
LuLu Group International is in advanced talks to buy the Grade II listed building, which is being turned into a five-star hotel by developer Galliard Group, Arabian Business Journal reports. If the deal goes ahead, Middle Eastern investors will control both of the Met’s former homes, after its current headquarters at New Scotland Yard was sold to Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) for $542 million in December.
The group, run by Indian tycoon Yusuffali MA, is best known for its LuLu grocery stores but has other operations in the Middle East spanning food processing, distribution and manufacturing. It also owns the Al Falah Plaza shopping centers, and recently expanded into the hotel sector with a Grand Hyatt under construction in Kerala, India.
Agency Gerard Nolan and Partners are advising on the deal.