A former private club in the heart of Mayfair which became a venue for A-list celebrities has become the latest landmark building in the capital to be targeted by squatters, Metro can reveal.
Morton’s Club at 28 Berkeley Square was originally built as the private home of the chancellor of the exchequer in the 1820’s.
It was then transformed into one of the most prestigious clubs in the capital with an illustrious membership.
However it plunged into administration in 2020 amid the Covid crisis and the building has remained vacant.
The club, which once boasted a Michelin starred restaurant The Square, was occupied by squatters but they were turfed out and security beefed up.
Despite these measures the squatters are still using the basement area as a refuge with their belongings piled up in a makeshift shelter.
Businesses in the exclusive square told the Metro that the Grade II listed building was being becoming a ‘magnet for anti-social behaviour’.
A security guard at a neighbouring business told Metro: ‘It’s been a nightmare. There were squatters actually in the building but now they were forced to leave. But what they are doing now is using the basement area as their refuge. There are piles of stuff down there it’s becoming like a slum. It’s a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
‘There are people smoking weed and the place is an eyesore. The police came recently but said there was nothing they could do. When the club was there it was very high end but now it’s just bringing down the square.’
The area is bristling with hedge fund businesses and other financial operations from across the globe.
The building next door is world renowned auction House Phillips which is currently holding sales of work by Damien Hirst.
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Morton’s was a favourite with Hollywood A-listers including Lindsay Lohan who attended a number of VIP events hosted there. Pippa Middleton was also a regular at the club.
A hedge fund worker at a business just off Berkeley Square told Metro: ‘It’s not good for the area to have a building in such a state. I start work early and have seen people emerging from the basement area. It’s a something that needs sorting. I have peeked down and seen the pile of rubbish and it’s sad to see a grand old building like that with its history reduced to looking a bit squalid.’
A caretaker at a nearby building said: ‘It’s not in keeping with the area. We have some of the richest people in the world here they do not expect to be confronted by mess. It’s bad for tourists as well.
The Metro approached a man who emerged from the basement early in the morning having apparently slept there the night.
He said: ‘I have no where else. What can I do?’
The building has been bought out of administration and is being marketed by CF Commercial for a client who now has the lease and is looking for a business to move in.
It is understood police have been called to the premises in the last month but informed the leaseholder there was nothing they could do as the squatters are not inside the building.
CF Commercial has been approached for comment.
The grand four storey building was constructed by Thomas Cubitt a master builder renowned for his work in London in the early 1800s.
It has become the latest in a series of valuable central London properties used as hospitals venues to be targeted by squatters.
A group barricaded themselves on Gordon Ramsay’s York and Albany pub near Regent’s Park in 2024 before being forced to leave having been sever a court order.
In the same year squatters occupied Marco Pierre White’s former steak and pizza restaurant until they were raided by police.
Meanwhile another group holed up inside Princess Diana’s former favourite restaurant San Lorenzo until they too were ordered out by the courts.
The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.
A statement from RSM UK, who stared as administrators for Morton’s said in a statement: ‘We were appointed Administrators to the company that owned the lease of Morton’s in January 2020 and sold the lease to new buyers in August 2021. We have had no involvement with the property since then and ceased to act as administrators shortly after the sale.’
A statement from Westminster Council said: ‘We’re not aware of any complaints about this specific site but we take the concerns of local businesses and residents very seriously.
‘Our city inspectors visited the site last night. They found no evidence of people sleeping rough in the basement but there are a number of items belonging to rough sleepers being stored there.
‘This is ultimately a matter for the landlord to secure the property and the council will notify them urgently about the issue.’
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