Nomad London to Open in Bow Street Magistrates’ Court
Main Photo: The NoMad London
Date: June 2019
Location: Bow Street, Covent Garden, London UK
Name: The NoMad London – opening 2020
No. of Keys: 91
Seller: The property was the Grade II listed former Bow Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station.
It was bought by Austrian hoteliers Rudolf and Christian Ploberger.
The brothers originally received planning permission to convert it into a hotel in 2013, but decided to sell with a price tag of £75m. Previous owner Irish-based hotel owner and developer Edward Holdings had also announced plans to develop the site into a hotel in 2007.
Bow Street Magistrate’s Court, built in 1881, is famous as one of London’s most notorious courts, hosting defendants such as the Kray twins, Jeffrey Archer and Pete Doherty. The court closed in 2006 after being in use for 267 years.
Buyer: BTC UK, which owns the Soho Coffee Company, Apostrophe cafés and Euphorium Bakery, has owned the 90,000 sq ft Bow Street Magistrates’ Court since 2016. It announced its intention that year to develop a £50m hotel within the building, shortly after acquiring it from the Austrian brothers.
It will now be converted into the 91-room NoMad London, designed by New York-based studio Roman and Williams, with features including a restaurant by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara (responsible for the three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York), and the NoMad Lounge – “an alluring space that invites guests to lounge after dinner in a nighttime venue”.
The original Magistrates’ Courtroom will be converted into events space, and there will be a museum with rotating exhibitions, honouring the history of the Metropolitan Police Force.
According to the hotel’s website the design of the property “draws inspiration from the original materials, colour palette and elaborate architecture of the building and will pay homage to the decorative traditions of England’s heritage while exploring the relationship between the New York and London art scenes”.
NoMad London will be the fourth hotel under the brand, joining properties in New York, LA and Las Vegas.
NoMad is owned by the Sydell Group, which also operates London’s The Ned hotel in partnership with Soho House and Co as well as the Freehand, Saguaro and Park MGM brands.
NoMad London will be a joint partnership between Sydell Group and investment firm BTC UK.
Sydell Group founder and chief executive Andrew Zobler is renowned for taking historical buildings and transforming them into hotels deeply rooted in their location and architecture.
“We are thrilled to bring the NoMad to London, and we feel there could not be a better building for it,” said Zobler. “The NoMad has always been about combining tradition and architecture with a modern and urbane sensibility, so it is well suited for London.”
Mehdi Ghalaie, managing director of BTC UK, said: “It has always been our intention to work with a leader in the lifestyle hotel space with whom we can transform Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, so we are delighted to be partnering with Sydell Group to bring the NoMad brand to London.”
Humm said: “We’re really looking forward to working with our partners to transform the historic space and make it our own, bringing our food, cocktails, and service to such a storied neighbourhood.”
“To be able to take the NoMad experience to London is something we’re very excited about. It’s a city we’ve loved for so long, and it has such a rich history of hotels and dining that we’re eager to contribute to,” added Guidara.
THPT Comment: THPT are big fans of hotel companies that restore such historic buildings in this way. Going to be a serious welcome venue to the London hotel and restaurant scene. The clever move is they have hired Kate Levin (now Kate Hart), recently GM at London’s Capital Hotel, as the new GM – who will bring some great experience and panache to the NoMad.
First Seen: The Caterer and Business Traveller
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