London
casino that featured in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and the Bond
film Dr No has been put up for sale by the Crown Estate
The home of Les Ambassadeurs, the London
casino featured in the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and the Bond film
Dr No, has been put up for sale. The building's owner, the Crown Estate,
hopes to raise £50m by selling the freehold of the casino, known as Les
A, which overlooks Hyde Park and charges up to £25,000 a year for
membership.
The Crown Estate, which owns swathes of Regent Street
and St James's, has owned the freehold since 1537. The Grade II* listed
building with its French classical facade at 5 Hamilton Place in Mayfair
dates from the early 19th century and was once home to the Rothschilds.
It stands on the site of one of Henry VIII's hunting lodges.
Les
Ambassadeurs is the gambling den of choice of Topshop owner Sir Philip
Green, whose luck at the roulette table in late 2004 – including a win
of £2m in a single night – forced the casino's then operator, London
Clubs International, into a profit warning.
A few years later the
retail billionaire considered buying the casino with sportswear tycoon
Mike Ashley from its new owner, the Indonesian tobacco billionaire
Putera Sampoerna.
Les Ambassadeurs was opened at Hanover Square in
1941 by businessman John Mills and relocated to Hamilton Place, off
Park Lane, in 1950. He ran the casino until 1981 when the leasehold was
bought by casino group London Clubs International. In 2006 the lease was
sold to the Sampoerna family. It boasts a garden smoking area where
players can enjoy a smoke while placing their bets.
The Crown Estate declined to comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment