UAE royal family firm secures ok for west end development

A firm owned by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family has received rare planning permission to develop one of the biggest office projects ever built in London’s West End.

Berkeley Estate Asset Management, which is owned by the Private Department of the President of the UAE, is planning to turn the former flagship BHS store and London College of Fashion buildings into 800,000 square feet (74,322 square meters) of office space and more than 100,000 square feet of stores, Bloomberg reports.

The Al Nahyan family owns a far-reaching property portfolio in the U.K., including some of London’s most valuable real estate – much of it acquired under the late former ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed.

The West End, which includes the famed Oxford Street retail strip where the project is located, is dominated by low-rise historical buildings which are protected under strict planning laws.