Kings House is a Grade II listed building in Hove that was previously used as offices by Brighton and Hove City Council. It is situated in Grand Avenue.[1]
Kings House was built between 1871 and 1874 by James Knowles; originally it was built as seven mansion blocks, and was based on the style of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.[2] [3] [4] It then became a hotel, called the Prince's Hotel, before being used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War.[4] [5] In 1948, the building was bought by SEEBOARD to use as the company headquarters, before being bought by Brighton and Hove City Council in 1996.[5] [3] In 1974, the building became a Grade II listed building.[5] [6]
In July 2014, Kings House was put up for sale for £10 million, as part of a cost saving plan.[7] [8] By 2015, the valuation of the property had increased to around £20 million, with staff being relocated from the building to Hove Town Hall by December 2016.[9] It was sold for £26 million in July 2017 to Mortar Nova Grand Avenue, a joint venture development vehicle between developer Rego Property and Pacific Investments. The buyer plans to turn the building back into housing.[10]
In July 2018, new partners joined the joint venture with the original partners exited.[11] The new partner is a REPE Fund managed by a Hong Kong based asset management company - Tianli Financial Limited, whereas Rego Property remain as the development manager. In September 2019, the development work kicked started,[12] and it completed in July 2021.[13]