LuLu Group, the supermarket operator based in Abu Dhabi, pays £110 million ($170 million) for the Great Scotland Yard, the original Scotland Yard headquarters, which is being converted into a luxury hotel. LuLu Group bought the property from British developer Galliard Homes which retained the 125-year head lease on the seven-storey Edwardian property at 1-5 Great Scotland Yard in December 2013.
Indian billionaire Yusuffali Kader’s Abu Dhabi headquartered LuLu Group will refurbish the building and transform it into a 92,000 sq ft 5-star hotel. The hotel will be operated by Steigenberger Hotel Group, which will create a new brand called The Great Scotland Yard to form part of its Signature hotels portfolio.
Due to open in early 2017, the five-star hotel boasts a history which includes being the location for investigating the Jack the Ripper murders as well as the spot in which Lord Kitchener told army recruits “Your country needs you” when it was later a British Army recruitment office during the first world war.
It was also the location of the Ministry of Defense until 2004, before Galliard bought the 125-year lease for the site in 2013.
