Mayfair retail destination Burlington Arcade will be put on sale for £400m, its owners have announced.

Thor Equities and Meyer Bergman bought the London property – built in the 19th-century ‘for the sale of jewellery and fancy articles of fashionable demand’ – for £104m from a private trust in 2010. Since then they have lured in a string of luxury brands and Royal Warrant holders as tenants at the 37,000 sq ft destination, including Chanel, The Vintage Rolex Watch Company, milliner Maison Michel and knitwear brand Barrie.

Linking Piccadilly and Bond Street, Burlington Arcade is an early precursor to the modern shopping mall, commissioned by Lord George Cavendish and designed by architect Samuel Ware. It opened to much fanfare in March 1819, and nearly 200 years later is still the UK’s longest covered shopping street, attracting over 3 million visitors per year.

‘The Burlington Arcade is a historical and architectural masterpiece, and one of the most renowned retail destinations in the world,’ said Joseph Sitt, chief executive of Thor Equities. ‘With its magnificent redesign and new luxury tenants, the property will remain a treasured London destination for generations to come.’

Hyperbole aside, the Burlington Arcade’s heritage is second to none. The 37,000 sq ft mall has survived the Blitz, high-voltage heists and economic recessions, and has inspired a string of grand arcades across the continent from St Petersburg to Brussels.

According to Property Week, CBRE has been appointed to sell Burlington Arcade on behalf of Thor and Meyer Bergman. It is expected to attract significant interest from investors in the Middle East and Far East.

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