Abu Dhabi bank snaps up last One Hyde Park unit

The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is to pay a record rent for the final retail unit at One Hyde Park, the luxury Knightsbridge development managed by the Candy brothers in London.

The luxury residential and retail development claims to include Britain's most expensive flat, at £140m, and has attracted the interest of wealthy overseas tenants, particularly from the Gulf and Russia. It is thought that the Abu Dhabi group outbid other Middle Eastern banks as well as upmarket fashion retailers to bag the final 3,000sqft unit at street level – paying more than the area's current record of £550 per square foot.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which was advised by agent CB Richard Ellis, joins luxury watch maker Rolex and McLaren's car showroom in the retail units, for which Nash Bond and Cushman & Wakefield are the leasing agents.

The Middle East has also invested heavily in upmarket Brompton Road, also in Knightsbridge, with a raft of top retailers and designer brands set to move in. It is thought that the US sports brand Nike is eyeing a shop currently occupied by fashion chain Monsoon, with bidders lining up to pay "key money" of around half a million pounds.

In the summer, Top Shop moved into the less-smart northern end of Brompton Road, and has acted as a magnet there for other fashion retailers, such as US-based Guess.