UK: The freehold of The Naval Club, a commercial building in London’s Mayfair, is up for sale for £35m via joint agents Gerald Eve and Wetherell.
The Grade II-listed building is located at 38 Hill Street offering 17,131 square feet of room across basement, ground and four upper floors. It provides the opportunity for future use as headquarter offices, a private member’s club or boutique hotel.
As a four or five-star hotel, the building could provide up to 30 keys, including bedrooms and suites, alongside a concierge reception, lounges, cocktail bar, fine dining, entertainment rooms and a gym.
Alternative uses could include a single or multi-unit residential development.
The building currently operates as a private member’s club for active and reserve Naval officers and other members.
It was originally built in 1748-49 by Benjamin Timbrell for local landowner Lord Berkeley. Then, in the late 1890s it was purchased by E. G. ‘Isaac’ Raphael who later commissioned architect William Flockhart to refurbish the facade and interiors.
The property remained in private ownership until WWII when it was requisitioned for use headquarters by the Army Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1946 the freehold was purchased from the Raphael family where it has been the home of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and The Naval Club ever since.
Lloyd Davies, partner at Gerald Eve, said: “Located on a wide and deep plot, 38 Hill Street is an extremely large property which lends itself to a range of potential commercial or hospitality uses. It is a rare opportunity to secure one of the finest freeholds in Mayfair.”
Peter Wetherell, founder and chairman of Wetherell, added: “it is extremely rare in Mayfair to have the opportunity to purchase the freehold of an entire mansion building of this size which is still configured as a vast single property. If remodelled into a super-prime mansion 38 Hill Street would be one of the most valuable, largest and prestigious private homes in Mayfair. Alternatively a developer could converted the building into a prestigious multi-unit residential development for which there remains a significant demand and a shortage of supply in Mayfair.”
