The United States has agreed to sell its landmark embassy in London's Grosvenor Square to Gulf investor Qatari Diar, as part of a plan to relocate to a higher-security facility south-west of the UK capital's centre. The purchase price for the property - known as the Chancery - has been kept confidential. Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield advised the United States in the transaction.
"With the signing of this contract the United States takes another step towards relocating to a new state-of-the-art embassy which will enhance the urban fabric of London and demonstrate exceptional American architecture," the department said in a statement posted on its website.
In October 2008, the United States signed a conditional agreement with Irish developer Ballymore Properties to acquire a site for the construction of a new US Embassy in the Nine Elms area of Wandsworth, south-west London. The State Department expects to announce the winner of the design competition for the new embassy in the new year. It hopes construction will begin in 2012 or 2013, with the project completing in 2016 or 2017.
The purchase is the latest in a slew of European real estate investments for Qatari Diar, the property arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.c In September, the company appointed bankers to raise a 3.5 billion riyal ($962 million) Islamic finance facility to fund its investments in Europe.
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