The billionaire owners of Chepstow and Doncaster racecourses have pounced on a £300m deal to buy the Burlington Arcade in Mayfair.
Simon and David Reuben, property tycoons whose interests also include data centres and shipping, are understood to have clinched the purchase late on Friday after a previous sale to the Monaco-born billionaire Patrice Pastor fell through.
The grade II-listed shopping centre was built in 1819 by Lord George Cavendish, who demanded the addition of a roof to stop rowdy passers-by throwing oyster shells over the wall into his garden. It is still patrolled by liveried guards, or beadles.
