Following on from the recent blog post “G4S
London Gold Vault 2.0 – ICBC Standard Bank in, Deutsche Bank out“, which
discusses the G4S precious metals vault located on Abbey Road in the Park
Royal area of London, its instructive to also look at where the other London
Gold Market vaults are located.
According to the vaulting pages
on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) website:
“There are seven custodians offering vaulting services in the London
bullion market, three of whom are also clearing members of the LBMA (Barclays,
HSBC and JP Morgan). There are also four other security
carriers, who are also LBMA members (Brinks, G4S Cash
Solutions (UK), Malca Amit and Loomis International (UK) Ltd).
The Bank of England also offers a custodian
service (gold only).”
These 8 custodians are then listed in a pdf
document on the LBMA website with their head office addresses, but not
the vault addresses. So where are the actual vaults?
Having looked at G4S, let’s continue by examining the London vault of
Malca-Amit. On its website
page which featuring its London vault, Malca-Amit states that:
“The London-based Malca-Amit vault is conveniently located close
to Heathrow airport. The vault is graded at level XII CD EX,
the highest European Vault classification and is complemented by the most up
to date security systems including the Avigilon CCTV suite with cameras
capturing 29 megapixels per frame.
The vault is authorised by the members of the London Clearing Company
and has LBMA approval for the weighing and inspecting of precious metals.“
Notice the reference to London Clearing Company. This is a reference to
the London Precious Metals Clearing Limited
(LPMCL), a private precious metals clearing consortium comprising HSBC,
JP Morgan, Barclays, The Bank of Nova Scotia – ScotiaMocatta, and UBS.
Driving around in Circles?
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) actually featured
Malca-Amit’s London vault in a slightly tongue in cheek article by Aelred
Connelly titled “Visit
to Malca-Amit’s New Vault” which appeared in Issue 68 of the LBMA’s
Alchemist magazine in October 2012.
The article begins:
“It was a balmy day when we arrived at Feltham station where we were
warmly greeted by our host for the day, Allan Finn, Global
Commodities Director for Malca-Amit. Allan told us that the location of the
vault was top secret so he deviously drove his car round in
circles until we were so disorientated we had no idea where he had taken us.”
And ends with:
“Our tour came to an end. Allan drove his car round in
circles again until we were so disorientated that we didn’t know where we had
come from. But he made up for it by taking us for a nice
lunch on the river at Richmond.
Apart from driving around in circles between Feltham Station and the vault
destination, the article also tells us that:
“Malca-Amit became a member of the LBMA in March 2012
and shortly afterwards completed the building of a new vault facility close
to Heathrow airport…..
…the new secure storage facility was opened in April
2012 near Heathrow airport.“
So it seems that Malca-Amit was granted Ordinary membership status of the
LBMA just prior to its new vault becoming operational. The granting of
Ordinary membership was probably a precursor to the Malca-Amit vault being,
in the words of Malca-Amit, “authorised by the members of the London
Clearing Company ..[with].. LBMA approval for the weighing and inspecting of
precious metals.”
The LBMA Alchemist profile goes on to say:
“Built above ground, the Malca-Amit vault is
one of a number of new facilities that either have been built or which will
be opened shortly within the perimeter of the M25….. Proximity to an airport
is an advantage.“
On 20 September 2012, the LBMA issued an advisory document titled “Best
Practice Guidelines; Used by “Loco London” Vaults Opening a new vault for the
storage of precious metals“, in which it was advised that “If you
wish to store the higher value precious metals then you may find that
insurers insist that your vaults are subterranean“. This obviously
wasn’t an issue for Malca-Amit’s insurers, since the Malca-Amit vault is in a
building that’s above ground.
The Alchemist continues:
“When we eventually arrived at our destination only the sound of
planes overhead gave any indication as to where we were.”
“Before we went in to the building Allan explained that the perimeter
fencing can withstand a 7.5-ton vehicle at 50 mph and the internal shutter
anti-ram barrier which is located behind the entrance gates can withstand a
7.5-ton vehicle at 30 mph.”
“But the thing that strikes you most is the vault. Allan explained
that it is a Chubbsafe
grade XII which offers the highest possible level
of security and provides capacity for more than 300 metric
tonnes of gold and 1,000 tonnes of silver.“
“Gold and silver are not the only precious items in storage: there are
also diamonds and other precious stones and jewellery which are kept in
storage on behalf of clients.”
Where then could Malca-Amit’s recently opened gold and silver vault be
located?
Arena Building, Parkway
It turns out that in a similar manner to G4S when it made a planning
application amendment for its new vault building at Abbey Road in Park Royal,
Malca-Amit was also not shy of listing its building location on the internet,
for it too listed the location of its new vault in a planning application
amendment submission dated July 2013.
This planning
document is posted on the www.gov.uk website, and on page 10, it states:
OK0230285 SN
MALCA-AMIT (UK) LTD
Director(s): STEPHAN KAZES, RAPHEL AMIT.
UNIT C3, TAMIAN WAY , HOUNSLOW TW4 6BL
New operating centre: ARENA BUILDING, PARKWAY TRADING ESTATE,
AERODROME WAY, CRANFORD LANE, HOUNSLOW TW5 9QA
(0 vehicle(s), 0 trailer(s))
New authorisation at this operating centre will be: 4 vehicle(s), 2
trailer(s)
Which leads us to the questions: what is and where is this Arena Building?
In 2011, the already completed Arena
Parkway building,
profiled in a glossy
brochure, was marketed on a UK commercial real estate website called
NovaLoca commercial property finder. This brochure pdf file was created on 14
July 2011. So although Malca-Amit may have “completed the building of a
new vault facility” as the LBMA stated, it did not build the building in
which the vault is located. The building had already been built prior to
2011.
The ‘Arena’ building is in the ‘Parkway Heathrow M4′ industrial estate off
Cranford Lane, in Heston, in the Hounslow area to the north-east of Heathrow
airport. Anyone who knows that area around Hounslow will know that the
one of the landing routes into Heathrow Airport is a very low approach along
a route right above where this building is located.
According to the brochure:
“The Arena provides a modern detached warehouse unit of 23,660
sq ft with a self-contained secure yard
and benefits from 24-hour security, an on-site management team and
surveillance cameras.”
“The unit is available on a new Full Repairing and Insuring lease
basis.”
Additional information in the 2011 brochure includes such facts as:
“NEW DISTRIBUTION/WAREHOUSE UNIT 23,660 sq ft (2,198
sq m)”
Description
The Arena is a new high quality warehouse suitable for production,
storage, research and development, laboratories and general distribution. It
has an impressive reception leading to first floor fully fitted offices. The
property is constructed of brick and profile metal composite cladding with
double glazed windows fitted with solar shading.
Accommodation
The property provides the following approximate gross external floor
areas:
Warehouse 20,430 sq ft 1,898 sq m
FF Offices 3,230 sq ft 300 sq m
Total 23,660 sq ft 2,198 sq m
Amenities
Warehouse, 8m clear height, Two up and over electric loading
doors, 200 kVA 3 Phase power supply, Roof lights to 10% of warehouse
floor area, Floor loading of 50Kn/m2
Offices
Open plan layout, Full access raised floor, Suspended ceilings with
recess
lighting, Gas central heating, Double glazed windows, Passenger lift
Reception area
Exterior
Self-contained property, Large secure yard, Access for articulated
lorries
Allocated parking
Given that this Arena building was being marketed from July 2011 onwards,
and that Malca-Amit began operating the vault facility from April 2012, then
it would suggest, as would be expected, that Malca-Amit took possession, and
then fitted out the building to its own specific requirements, including the
vault, before opening for business in April 2012.
The Arena building is in the London Borough of Hounslow, so it is
instructive to examine planning applications made for this building in and
around the dates that Malca-Amit took occupancy.
A planning search for TW5 9QA on the Hounslow planning
website reveals that plans for this Arena Parkway building were submitted
from as early as December 2007, but there seems to have been a long drawn out
series of planning applications and amendements made for the construction,
the latest being submitted in December 2008 and approved by Hounslow Council
in February 2009. Therefore, construction of the building would have
commenced sometime after February 2009.
The planning applications for the Arena building, which were submitted by CGNU
Life Assurance Ltd / Aviva Investors, summarise the project as
follows:
“System Reference: P/2008/3669
Planning Reference: 00315/F/P59(6)
Following approval for demolition of the existing office building and
construction of new industrial and warehouse unit with ancillary office
accommodation, new entrances off existing access road, car parking,
landscaping and roof mounted photo-voltaic panels details submitted pursuant
to Condition 6 (waste and recycled materials storage) of permission dated
18/03/08
APPLICANT DETAILS
Name Mr Mark Nevitt CGNU Life Assurance Ltd
Address C/O Aviva Investors No.1 Poultry London EC2R 8EJ
Architect LDA Ltd Chartered Architects,
Surrey”
The Arena
drawings document submitted with the most recent building application
shows a layout in keeping with the size and shape of the structure that was
actually built, so it looks like the development was completed in accordance
with the last approved set of plans.
Malca Amit Arena Parkway
TW5 9QA
Fencing
Following occupancy by Malca-Amit, the only planning application submitted
for the Arena Building since then is application “Planning
Reference: 00315/F/P61″ which addressed improved fencing around the site.
“System Reference: P/2013/1670
Planning Reference: 00315/F/P61
Site description THE ARENA PARKWAY TRADING ESTATE CRANFORD LANE
HOUNSLOW LONDON TW5 9QA
Date received 31/05/2013
Details: Erection of security fencing and bollards along perimeter of
site with sliding gate at yard entrance and rising barrier at car park
Ward: Heston West [note that a ward is a sub-unit of a
borough]
APPLICANT DETAILS
Name Malca Amit
Address 100 Hatton Garden EC1N 8NX
Architect Pinnegar Hayward Design,
Birmingham
Application Received 31/05/2013
Decision Approved 13/09/2013
The ‘delegated report’ submission states that:
“The application seeks to improve the existing security around the
site. The existing bollards around the site would be made good to existing
low-level shrub planting. The fencing around the part of the site would be a 2.4m
high 358 mesh panel fence powder 600 mm high electric fence above.
This fencing would be on the north, south and west parts of the site. There
would be a 6m cantilevered sliding gate,
which would be 2.4m high with serrated top – RAL 9005 (black) finish.
In order to secure parking on site a car park gate has been proposed
which runs off the access road. This would be 3m wide rising barrier
which would be 1m high, RAL 9003 (white) finish with contrasting red
banding. There would be 1m wide exit gate which would be next to the
unit.”
The Site
Plan and Elevation
for the above application put some visuals on the above delegated report
text. This fencing is therefore the fencing that Allan Finn of Malca-Amit was
referring to when he told the LBMA that the”perimeter fencing can
withstand a 7.5-ton vehicle at 50 mph and the internal shutter anti-ram
barrier which is located behind the entrance gates can withstand a 7.5-ton
vehicle at 30 mph.”
The Edinburgh Assay Office and UKAS
Not only is Malca-Amit located in this Arena Parkway Building, but so is
the Edinburgh Assay Office. Although the Edinburgh Assay
office has its headquarters in Goldsmiths Hall, Edinburgh, in Scotland, it
also operates a laboratory at a Heathrow Sub Office where it is accredited
for “Chemical Tests for the purpose of hallmarking”.
This fact is revealed in a series of United Kingdom Accreditation Service
(UKAS) reports that were posted on the UKAS website in June 2015. On 8 June
2015, UKAS posted a report about the Edinburgh Assay Office on its website
titled “The
Edinburgh Assay Office Issue No: 010 Issue date: 08 June 2015″. This
report lists a ‘Heathrow Sub Office’ for the Edinburgh Assay Office without
specifying its address.
However, 4 days earlier on 4 June 2015, UKAS posted a report titled “The
Edinburgh Assay Office Issue No: 009 Issue date: 04 June 2015” in which
the Heathrow Sub Office was listed with an address of “1st Floor,
Arena Parkway, Cranford Lane, Heston, TW5 9QA”.
Although the Issue 010 report from UKAS replaced its Issue 009 version a
few days later, the Issue 009 version remained in the Google cache as a
Google search result and also as a complete cached document:
Cached version of Issue 009
The commercial logic for the Edinburgh Assay Office having a presence in
Malca-Amit’s Arena building seems to be that, in addition to Malca-Amit
storing precious metals and precious stones and jewellery in the building,
the location is also convenient for the rest of the Heathrow area where
precious metals and jewellery are constantly arriving into and departing
from. This is the ‘Hallmarking in Transit’ service offered by the Edinburgh
Assay Office, offered in conjunction with Malca-Amit, and explained on the
Assay Office website here,
and also on Malca-Amit’s website here.
The Edinburgh Aassy Office’s Heathrow sub-office was profiled in January
2015 in an article
on website Jewellery Focus, complete with photo of the office in the
Arena building. Notice the Malca-Amit warehouse floor in the background of
the photo with the office on the 1st floor. The one year anniversary of the
Edinburgh Assay Office sub-office in the Malca-Amit premises was also
recorded in an end of January 2016 article from Professional Jeweller titled
“Edinburgh
Assay Office celebrates one year of Hallmarking in Transit at Heathrow”.
This is not the only UK-based assay office to maintain a sub-office in the
premises of a secure precious metals transport and secure storage operator
near Heathrow Airport. The Goldsmiths
Company – Assay Office, which is headquartered in the City of London,
also operates a Heathrow Sub Office in “Unit 7, Radius Park,
Faggs Road, Feltham, Middlesex, TW14 0NG”. This is listed in a UKAS report “The
Goldsmiths’ Company – Assay Office Issue 016 Issue Date 05 August 2014″. This
‘Unit 7 Radius Park’ is a Brinks building and it too contains a vault, but
that’s another vault profile for another day.
Ronan Manly
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