After the UAE’s LuLu Group announced the purchase of Great Scotland Yard in London for Dh626.6m, we take a look at the other landmark properties that have caught the eye of Middle East investors.
Updated: July 27, 2015, 12:00 AM
Middle East money ploughed into world landmarks – in pictures
The Qatar Investment Authority and its Canadian partner Brookfield, the world’s biggest office developer, clinched control of Canary Wharf with a £2.6 billion (Dh14.7bn) bid early this year. The office district, 11 kilometres east of Mayfair, boasts eight towers and is home to 110,000 workers, heavily dominated by the financial services sector. iStockphoto.com
The UAE hypermarkets operator Lulu Group International has paid £110 million (Dh626.6m) for Great Scotland Yard in London as the company expands into hotel development. It plans to turn the former headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (between 1829 and 1890) into a luxury hotel. The deal includes an adjoining listed Victorian town house that would be designed as an entertainment suite for the hotel. Lulu bought the property from the London-based property developer Galliard Homes. Courtesy Galliard Homes and Lulu Group International
Qatar Holding bought Harrods in London in 2010 for an estimated Dh8.5 billion. Harrods first opened its doors in 1849 and was owned for 25 years, until the Qatari takeover, by Mohamed Al Fayed. Courtesy Harrods
A police support officer walks past a sign outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, in central London. Abu Dhabi Financial Group acquired the property for £370 million (Dh2.1 billion) last year. The company plans to redevelop the 600,000 square foot site in Central London into a world-class multi-use development. Carl Court / AFP
Abu Dhabi Financial Group bought 1 Palace Street in London in November in a £310m financing deal. It comprises 271,051 square feet of space adjacent to Buckingham Palace in the exclusive area between St James’s, Mayfair and Belgravia. The development of 72 luxury apartments, a restaurant and health centre, is expected to be completed in late 2017. Rendering courtesy NBAD and ADFG
London's Savoy hotel is owned jointly by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Qatar’s state-run Katara Hospitality. Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding investment company bought the hotel with HBOS – now part of Lloyds – in 2005 for £230 million (Dh1.3 billion). Katara Hospitality then bought Lloyds’ 50 per cent stake last year. Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP Photo
The George V Four Seasons hotel in Paris is owned by Prince Al Waleed's Kingdom Holding. Courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
One Hyde Park reflects the sunshine in Knightsbridge, London. The project was developed in a joint venture between the Candy Brothers and a firm backed by the Qatar government and is regarded as one of the world's finest addresses. Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images