Firm holds key to work at £37m London house (From Worcester News)

Firm holds key to work at £37m London house

5:30pm Tuesday 29th March 2011 in News By Mike Pryce

A WORCESTER company is a vital cog in the wheel of one of the most costly renovation projects ever carried out to a private house in London.

The property at 100 Park Lane, once the town house of the Earls of Dudley of Witley Court, had a guide price of £42million five years ago, targeting buyers “at the top end of the billionaire market”.

It has now been bought for a knock-down £37.4million by the Emir of Qatar, who is spending more than £10million turning it into a family home. Plans include up to 17 bedrooms, a 50ft ballroom, 80ft picture gallery and 14 reception rooms, to the highest standard.

Such work needs constant surveillance and remote data specialists Caption Data Ltd of Brindley Court, Worcester, has been called in to supply 38 “black boxes” to monitor environmental conditions and send text messages or e-mail alarms in case of problems. Called RDL/nanos, the devices monitor temperature and humidity in the rooms and fluid levels and power in the dehumidifiers. Taking measurements every few minutes, every hour, every day, they report back via a mobile phone network to an internet bureau.

Paul Sanders, technical director, said: “The application is a perfect fit for our ‘nano’ range of devices, which come into their own when there is a need to measure important parameters, even when there is no regular network connection available. This project will help us leverage our remote monitoring solutions into a diverse range of markets.”

The project is due to be completed by the summer of 2012 and will restore 100 Park Lane – which was bombed in the Blitz and had then been commercial offices for four decades – to the peak of the private market.

In the heart of the Mayfair conservation area with views directly over Hyde Park, the house can trace its origins back to 1736. However, it was the fourth Earl of Dudley, using his vast wealth from the coal and iron industries, who transformed the property in the mid-1800s, lining the staircase with mirrors in imitation of the Palace of Versailles. Sir John Ward, of the Dudley family, and his wife Jean Reid, daughter of the American ambassador, presided over some of the most glittering social occasions in the 1920s and 30s.

The kitchens were among the largest in London – one for the food prepared for the family, another for the servants and another for the servants who served the servants.