The Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) has emerged as the buyer of the New Scotland Yard headquarters in London with a £360 mln (€457 mln) bid, reflecting a 30% premium to the asset's guide price.

The Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) has emerged as the buyer of the New Scotland Yard headquarters in London with a £360 mln (€457 mln) bid, reflecting a 30% premium to the asset's guide price.

New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, was put on the market after the summer with a guide price of £250 mln. The selling price to ADFG is nearly three times the purchase price of £123.5 mln in 2008.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime brought the 1960s office block in Victoria to market via agent JLL as part of the Greater London Authority's strategy to cut spending.

The vendor said that there were 11 credible bids with ADFG, a multi-billion dollar alternative investment company based in Abu Dhabi, securing the deal. ADFG now plans to create a mixed-use residential development on the site.

The building, home to the Met Police HQ since 1967, was marketed as ‘Ten Broadway’ and has the potential for a 600,000 sq ft (55,750 m2) residential-led development.

The move is estimated to save the Met over £6 mln a year in running costs. In total, the Greater London Authority is raising £125 mln through the sale of 32 buildings as part of plans to reduce the Met estate by a third.

The operational HQ of the Met will relocate to the Curtis Green building on Victoria Embankment, which received planning permission from Westminster Council last month for a slimmed down HQ. The building will be home to up to 1,000 officers and staff as compared to the 2,500 working out of the current HQ.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: 'The sale of this under-used and outdated building means we can now not only protect that rich heritage, but also fund the new HQ and kit out bobbies with the latest mobile technology to secure the future of the force.'

Jane Bond, Director Metropolitan Police Service Property Services added: 'The sale of Ten Broadway is the most significant step in the delivery of the MOPAC / MPS Estate Strategy, releasing substantial capital to reinvest in policing London. We have already raised £215 mln though the sale of 52 buildings, creating a smaller, more efficient and modern estate which allows us to focus resources on frontline policing.'

Jassim Alseddiqi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Financial Group, said: 'Ten Broadway will be one of the most important redevelopment projects undertaken in Central London this decade, replacing a world famous headquarters with a world class development. With the bid process now complete, we look forward to creating an exceptional new landmark for London.'

In November 2014, ADFG announced the completion of a £310 mln financing deal for the redevelopment of 1 Palace Street, situated in prime Central London adjacent to Buckingham Palace. With an expected completion date of 2017, this development will comprise 72 luxury apartments, a restaurant as well as health and fitness facilities within its 271,051 sq ft.