Grosvenor Group

Grosvenor Estate

The history of the Grosvenor Estate begins in 1677, with the marriage of 12 year-old heiress Mary Davies to Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet (1656–1700). Mary had inherited the manor of Ebury, 500 acres of land north of the Thames to the west of the City of London. This area remained largely untouched by the Grosvenors until the 1720s, when they developed the northern part, now known as Mayfair, around Grosvenor Square. A few generations later, in the 1820s, their focus moved south, to what is now Belgravia, developing Eaton Square, Chester Square, and other famous addresses. Later in the 19th century, the area of Pimlico was developed; this was sold in 1953.

Nomenclature

Many of the streets within the estate are named after the Grosvenor family and its connections. The Grosvenor family became established in England before the 15th century, on the manor of Eaton in Cheshire, where its principal seat, Eaton Hall, is still located. Many of the family's early members sat as one of the two Members of Parliament for Chester.

In 1874, Hugh Grosvenor was created Duke of Westminster; other titles held by the current duke are: Marquess of Westminster, Earl Grosvenor, Viscount Belgrave, and Baron Grosvenor. The title of Baron Ebury was granted in 1857 to Robert Grosvenor, third son of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, after the name of the original manor of Ebury (whence Ebury Street, etc. in Pimlico), and Thomas Grosvenor, the second son of the 1st Marquess, who succeeded his maternal grandfather under special remainder in 1814 to the title of Earl of Wilton (whence Wilton Crescent etc. in Belgravia). "The Cheshire villages of Lupus, Eccleston and Belgrave, within or near the family estate, are recognised in street names of the London estate."

Buildings

The Mayfair portion of the estate includes Peabody social housing around Brown Hart Gardens.

International expansion

Although the Grosvenor Group is often publicly identified with its core asset, the Grosvenor Estate in London, now managed within Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, the present-day investment and development portfolio of Grosvenor Group is diversified across Britain. International expansion began in the 1950s, in Canada, and later in the United States, hence businesses in the Americas.

In the 1960s, the businesses expanded into Australia and, in the 1990s, into Asia Pacific. Also in the 1990s, Grosvenor expanded into Continental Europe, where most current activity relates to Grosvenor's fund management business. This was formally established in 2005 and now encompasses the Americas, Asia Pacific (including Australia), and Europe (including the UK).

Properties owned by Grosvenor

Properties in the UK, Continental Europe, Asia, and the Americas include:

Liverpool One, a shopping district in Liverpool, UK

District, an urban mixed-use residential and retail development in Washington, D.C., United States

Century Plaza II, a 99,126 square ft class A office building in Silicon Valley, California, United States

Waterstone Apartment Homes, a 432-unit community in Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, United States

240 Stockton Street, a ten-storey luxury retail and office building located in San Francisco, California, United States

875 California Street, a condominium building in San Francisco, California, United States

288 Pacific, a retail in Jackson Square, San Francisco, California, United States

394 Pacific Avenue, an office building located in San Francisco, California, United States

1645 Pacific Avenue, a luxury condominium building in San Francisco, California, United States

185 Post Street, a luxury shopping centre in San Francisco, California, United States

Grosvenor Ambleside, a multi-tower site with retail in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Connaught, a mixed-use building in Edgemont Village in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada