Shell Mex House
Shell Mex House, also known as 80 Strand,
Description
Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 537,000 sq ft (49,900 m2) of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and is immediately recognisable from the
History
The building was for many years the London headquarters of
The entrance of the building, which is set back from Strand, is through a large gated archway. A green plaque was affixed to the wall just inside the gate in March 2008, proclaiming: "The Royal Air Force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1st April 1918". Below it is a brass plate stating: "This plaque was unveiled by the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy to mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force".[5]
During World War II, the building became home to the Ministry of Supply, which co-ordinated the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. It was also the home of the Petroleum Board, which handled the distribution of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940.
The building reverted to Shell-Mex & BP on 1 July 1948, with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid-1970s. During this time, until the department's move to the present location in Farnborough, the building was also the headquarters for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.[6]
On 17 May 2006, The Times reported that the building was for sale and that the Indian-Kenyan Kandhari family was the front-runner in the battle to buy it from the existing owners, Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz.[7] The Kandharis were said to have offered £530 million for the building, but they were competing with other interested groups, including Menorah, the Israeli insurer, an Irish company, and several British companies. An offer believed to be for £520 million ($1.02 billion) was made in December 2006 by Istithmar, the investment agency of the Dubai government, which withdrew its offer before completion. The property was subsequently sold in July 2007 to a fund managed by Westbrook Partners for £988 million.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Eighty Strand website
- ^ "Shell Mex House – Westminster". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
- ^ "SHELL MEX HOUSE, City of Westminster - 1236752 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ Reference and contact details: GB 1566 SMBP Title:Shell-Mex and BP Archive Dates of Creation: 1900–1975 Held at: BP Archive GB 1566 SMBP
- ^ News. "Westminster Green plaque marks RAF's first HQ". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
{{cite web}}
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Department of Trade Accidents Investigation Branch. p. 3. Retrieved on 12 May 2012. "Accidents Investigation Branch Department of Trade Shell Mex House Strand, London WC2R 0DP"
- ^ Business The Times 17 May 2006 page 63
- ^ Westbrook to acquire Shell Mex House for £988 million Bloomberg News 4 May 2007
External links
- Eighty Strand website
- "Shell Mex House". Emporis. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019.