THE Abu Dhabi Royal family is understood to have tabled a £100 million-plus bid for the Time & Life Building on the corner of New Bond Street in London’s West End, The Times has learnt.
The family, which also owns the Berkeley Square estate and a string of properties around Bruton Street, is thought to be one of five bidders for the property, which is being sold through Michael Elliott, the niche property consultant.
Other bidders are understood to include a pension fund and Middle Eastern private investors.
The 51,000 sq ft property used to be the headquarters of GEC. It was built in 1951 to house the London office of the American magazines Time and Life and is Grade-II listed. Present tenants include Hermes, the Parisian fashion house, and Palmer Capital Partners.
It was put up for sale this month and a decision on a preferred purchaser is expected shortly. The property is being sold on behalf of private owners advised by Strategic Real Estate Advisers.
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The Abu Dhabi royal family has also bid for 1 Curzon Street, an office property in Mayfair. The family, which is advised by GVA Chapman Swabey, lost out in the auction of the BP Pension Fund’s Knightsbridge estate this year to a consortium of Irish investors led by Derek Quinlan, but it remains keen to extend its Mayfair holdings.