Not So New Scotland Yard

Headquarters of the Metropolitan police New Scotland Yard has been sold to Middle Eastern developers for £370 million. A financial group in Abu Dhabi paid over £120million above the asking price for the building which has housed the Met since 1967. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson approved of the deal claiming that it was an investment in the future he said “This landmark deal allows us to preserve the past whilst giving todays Met a vital cash boost.” Despite recent news regarding overseas investment Into UK companies making headlines in the British press Mr Johnson dismissed criticism of the deal, claiming anyone who felt there was an economic difference between a UK investor and one from abroad was “completely economically illiterate.” The site is set to be turned into residential properties, with the potential of a hotel and office space available, whilst the Met will take its new place on Victoria embankment. The building was initially placed on the market by the Mayor’s Office in September with a price tag of £250 million; the money will be put towards new technology for offices and putting more bobbies on the beat. To date the Met has sold 52 of its buildings raising around £215 million, once the new HQ is in place by 2016 it is hoped that the restructure will save the police force around £60million in yearly running costs. Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said “We now expect to need to be making savings of up to £1.4billion by the end of the next spending review, including some £600 million which we will have delivered by 2015-16.” In real terms this works out at up to a third of the original budget set out for the Met, it is not yet known how much the new apartments are likely to sell for but the Abu Dhabi Financial Group seem confident they will see a return on their huge investment.

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