British-Iranian property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz is to turn MI5’s former Mayfair headquarters into a hotel and private members’ club after planning proposals were given the green light.
The seven-storey office building on Curzon Street, W1, was the intelligence service’s HQ from the end of World War Two until 1976.
The building’s holding company, which lists Tchenguiz as a director, will go ahead with plans to turn Leconfield House into a 65-bedroom hotel with a private members’ club on the sixth and seventh floors, as well as an 8,400 sq ft rooftop restaurant.
Westminster City Council’s planning officers said the scheme was a “well-designed proposal which will preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the Mayfair Conservation Area”.
Subsequently, they signed off the project, despite dozens of objections from nearby residents, who did not want the building to become a private members’ club because it would not benefit locals. The committee agreed that this did not go against policy and approved the application unanimously.
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