Hatton Garden safe store that suffered £10m raid up for sale

Exclusive: Property agent says 'although this space has had negative history recently, there is major scope for an investor to revamp'

The theft attracted international attention (Getty)

Investors will this week be offered the chance to swoop on the Hatton Garden property which fell victim to a sensational heist earlier this year in which £10m of jewellery was stolen, The Independent can reveal.

The property agent Hoffman Partners has been hired to find buyers for the 1,293 square feet shop at 88-90 Hatton Garden.

Deposit boxes were ransacked for cash, jewellery and other valuables at the property in April.

The raid over the Easter weekend saw thieves break into the vault via a lift shaft in the building at the heart of the central London jewellery mecca. They used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in wide in the vault wall. It has since been secured.

The decision to sell up comes just two months after Harold Sorsky and Stella Davis of Streets SPW were appointed joint liquidators of the owner, Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd.

Owned by Sudanese father and son Mahendra and Manish Bavishi, Hatton Garden Safe Deposit shut down after trade slowed in the wake of the high-profile theft.

Ms Davis confirmed that SPW had appointed Hoffman Partners to help with the sale of the leasehold, which includes more than 1,000 safe deposit boxes held inside a vault.

“It is the duty of a liquidator to achieve maximised realisations from the sale of any assets of the company for the benefit of creditors in liquidation,” Ms Davis told The Independent.

Ms Davis would not comment on how much is owed to creditors, but added: “The assets of the company consist of a long leasehold at a low rent. It is the intention of the liquidators to assign the lease to an interested party for value.”

Offers over £200,000 will be sought for the leasehold, which expires in December 2033.

Tony Gerver, a consultant at Hoffman Partners, said: “Although this space has had negative history recently, there is major scope for an investor to revamp the space. It is in the heart of London’s jewellery quarter and it is very rare to get these spots because it is highly occupied around the area.”

Viewings will take place this week, and it is understood that security arrangements for the store will be arranged by the new leaseholder.

Hatton Garden, situated near Chancery Lane Tube station, is regarded as the historic centre of the diamond trade in the UK, but has also attracted a string of media companies in recent years, including Grey Advertising and Buzzfeed.