Dominus and Cheyne Capital have acquired Ibex House in London with a view to converting it into a hotel.
Built between 1933 and 1937, the Grade II-listed Art Deco office building, which is currently vacant, is located close to Aldgate, Fenchurch Street and Tower Hill.
Dominus has submitted plans to transform the building into a 382-key hotel designed by Studio Moren. The proposals retain 100% of the building’s substructure and 90% of its superstructure.
At ground level, the building will be opened up to the public and include a new café, an upgraded ‘Peacock’ pub and a Hospitality Academy, delivered in partnership with The Springboard Charity.
Preet Ahluwalia, chief executive officer of Dominus, said: “Ibex House is the latest example of our strategy to acquire underutilised offices and repurpose them into market-leading hotels in central locations. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Cheyne Capital, leveraging our development and asset management expertise to create long-term value. This landmark building is the latest acquisition as we work with capital partners to grow our portfolio of owned and operated hotels.”
Anupriya Rajpal, development director at Dominus, added: “We have a strong record of sensitively retaining and repurposing underutilised buildings, including The Dixon, a Grade II-listed former magistrates court that we converted into a 193-key hotel that celebrates the building’s past. With Ibex House we are proposing to create an iconic hotel that embraces its Art Deco design while activating the ground floor with a pub, café and hospitality academy.”
Hamish Gordon, director in Cheyne Capital’s real estate group said: “This project is the latest in a series of partnerships with Dominus and we’re confident that we’ll continue our track record of working together to deliver bold redevelopments of prime Central London assets. The new hotel and public facilities will contribute meaningfully to the transformation of the City into a go-to destination.”
