Simon Halabi’s original plan was to develop a super-luxury, six-star club experience with members enjoying country facilities at Mentmore Towers, in Buckinghamshire, with a London base at the In and Out Club on Piccadilly. However, the recent global crisis seemed to put the plans on hold and concerns had been raised (including in comments on earlier blog post: ‘Simon Halabi and Mentmore Towers’ – 17 July) as to whether sufficient maintenence was being undertaken at both locations.
The master plan appears to have now been changed with the news that the In and Out Club has been put up for sale. Included in the deal are various neighbouring buildings which give the potential for the sale to raise up to £250m. It’s not known what Mr Halabi’s plans are but one can only hope that the money raised will benefit Mentmore Towers, preserving and protecting this important country house.
Full story: ‘Mayfair’s In and Out Club on market‘ [Financial Times]
The Country Seat 
The question is: Who has put the London property up for sale? Maybe it is the bank who lent money on that property. Mentmore ownership is in a different company and may well be funded differently so one should not assume that money from one (if sold) will go on the other. The Mentmore project was conceived at a very different point in the economic cycle and maybe funded on the back of different assumptions and different leverage. It could well be that banks or investors have other priorities now.
Indeed – I was working under the assumption that this is a planned sale by Mr Halabi with him in control. Of course, if the position is as you suggest then unfortunately all bets are off. With the size of his property empire the £50m would merely service the debt for short period.
Halabi has put another of his buildings in Charles St London W1 on the market. Again, it’s listed and on the Register of Buildings at Risk. He or an associated company have owned it for at least a decade. It would be interesting to know what maintenance if any has been done to the property in the intervening period. Despite being “at risk” the asking price is several times the figure paid.
Thanks for the update. It will be worth watching to see what sort of interest the property generates and whether the potential buyers will be looking to restore it and bring it back to life. Alternatively they may also just hold it as an investment hoping that a general rise in property prices will deliver an undeserved profit without the need to actually invest in these lovely buildings.