The brand has put its first phase of The OWO Residences by Raffles on sale, with a call to the world’s wealthy to “own a piece of British history”.
Closed to the public for decades, the Old War Office in Whitehall was designed by British architect William Young and completed in 1906. It would go on to play a key role in top secret political manoeuvring over the years under the likes of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George.
It was John Profumo’s base when he was Secretary of State and inspired Ian Fleming to write the James Bond series after working for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Service.
The grand architecture of the OWO has made the building a dramatic location for Bond films, and more recently for The Crown, Netflix’ award-winning royal saga.
The OWO Residences by Raffles marks the brand’s first foray into residences in Europe and will be the location for 85 homes.
The Grade II-listed former Old War Office building has been closed to the public for over a century and has been undergoing a five-year transformation.
Once complete in 2022, it will also be home to the UK’s first Raffles hotel, with 125 rooms and suites, nine restaurants and bars, and a spa, with the hotel interiors being designed by New York-based Thierry Despont.
The OWO project is being undertaken by the Hinduja Group, an international multi-billion conglomerate that has worked with Historic England and Museum of London Archaeology on the project, alongside EPR Architects to oversee the redevelopment.
Raffles will operate both the hotel and the residences, but the residences will not be part of the hotel inventory.
Later this year, Raffles will open hotels in Dubai (The Palm), Bahrain, Udaipur, and Macau, followed by Boston (2022), Lusail (2022), Moscow (2022), St. Petersburg (2023) and Sentosa (2023).
Prices for a two-bedroom residence start from a cool £5.8 million.
