Party venue Kensington Roof Gardens sold to Germans in £225m deal

 
Roof Gardens Kensington

The Kensington Roof Gardens, one of London’s most glamorous party destinations, has been sold in a £225 million deal.

The Art Deco office block where the venue is located has been bought by a German family that already owns the Liberty department store building on Regent Street and Manchester United’s London office in Mayfair.

The building, known as 99 Kensington High Street housed the Derry & Toms department store until 1973 and the Biba boutique until 1975 when the Gardens were a popular haunt for stars such as Mick Jagger, Marc Bolan and David Bowie.

The 1.5 acre Roof Gardens have been rented by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson since 1981 and each June hosts the annual pre-Wimbledon tennis tournament party attended by many of the the world’s top players.

The German Conley family are believed to have agreed to pay £225 million for the 319,000 st ft building, some £25 million over the asking price, according to Estates Gazette.

Their investment vehicle Sirosa, which also owns the nearby former Barkers department store building now occupied by organic superstore Whole Foods, is believed to have outbid Middle Eastern and European investors.

The property, which also includes 1 Derry Street and 25 Kensington sqaure, is currently owned by a Singaporean consortium, which paid £110 million for it in 2006.

The main tenant is Sony Music Entertainment with the Equinox US health club also an occupier. Agents Jones Lang LaSalle were instructed to sell the building in January.

The Grade II* listed gardens — laid out between 1936 and 1938 and the largest of their kind in Europe — are famed for their flock of flamingos, flowing stream and grottos.

The Derry Gardens, as they were originally known, were inspired by similar roof gardens at the Rockefeller Centre in New York and designed and laid out by landscaper Ralph Hancock.

They are divided into three themes, Moorish style, based on the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, Tudor style and English woodland garden.

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