English Rose Estates Makes A Really Useful Acquisition

Composer and musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber's former Covent Garden headquarters is to be converted into a £60m luxury residential development.

Fitzrovia-based developer English Rose Estates this week completed a £19m purchase of composer and musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber's former Covent Garden headquarters.

English Rose Estates bought the office building, 22 Tower Street, WC2, from Spanish investor Allegra Holdings.

Plans will be submitted to Camden council to convert the 21,000 sq ft Grade II listed building into 24 luxury flats with an estimated GDV of £60m.

The West End property is let to Lloyd Webber's theatre business The Really Useful Group until 2016. However, the firm has largely relocated to nearby, 17 Slingsby Place, WC2.

A deal is expected to be agreed that will provide English Rose with vacant possession of the property this year.

English Rose director Ockert van den Berg said: "It is a beautiful building and one of a number of developments we have in and around Covent Garden. There is immensely strong demand from local and international buyers that have bought into the Covent Garden lifestyle."

The group has £300m earmarked for investing in West End residential-led properties in 2014. So far this year it has bought assets including 21-22 Poland Street, W1, and 56-69 Rupert Street, W1.