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Metropolitan acquires London Safe Deposit Company's safe deposit box business

29 August 2012

Metropolitan Safe Deposits has purchased the business assets belonging to The London Safe Deposit Company.

Metropolitan Safe Deposits Limited, the UK’s leading independent safe custody business, has recently agreed to purchase the business assets belonging to a major competitor, The London Safe Deposit Company Limited. The transaction includes London Safe Deposit’s intellectual property rights and business goodwill, as well as a commitment by the seller to transfer its company name and domain name at an agreed future date. According to London Safe Deposit’s Managing Director, Andrew Wright, the company has been trading in the same Regent Street premises for 81 years, but the freeholders of the property, The Crown Estate, has made the decision to redevelop the entire site, thus ending all associated leases as of September 2013. Andrew Wright has written to all his clients to give them maximum notice of next year’s closure and explained that the company’s directors had “spent a good deal of time looking at the alternatives. We believe that Metropolitan, with its substantial vaults in Knightsbridge and St John’s Wood, is the best option from the point-of-view of reputation, location and capacity”.

Metropolitan’s Chief Executive, Christopher Barrow, said “we are thrilled that London Safe Deposit has chosen Metropolitan as the most suitable replacement service for their clients. It is, of course, sad that a safe deposit business with such an illustrious history will have to close its doors next year, but fortunately we are able to provide their clients with what they want. It is not surprising that Andrew Wright’s final decision was partly due to Metropolitan’s reputation for taking regulations and security very seriously. It was clear to me when I first met Andrew that our two companies shared the same values, which have resulted in thousands of customers trusting us with whatever is valuable to them”.

Colin Mitchell, who as Managing Director will be masterminding the client transfers during the coming months, believes that “a large percentage of London Safe Deposit’s customers will transfer to the Knightsbridge office in view of its proximity to Regent Street (and just three stops on the Piccadilly line), though a significant number has already started to move to our St John’s Wood branch”.

Christopher Barrow added that he was confident that this major transfer of clients would be conducted smoothly since Colin Mitchell and his highly-experienced team had been involved in a number of similar exercises in the past, including successful moves from the City and Belgravia.

Contact Information

Christopher Barrow, Group Chief Executive
Metropolitan Safe Deposits Limited
Tel 020 7581 1212

Colin Mitchell, Managing Director
Metropolitan Safe Deposits Limited
Tel 020 7581 1212