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One of Europe's most secure and luxurious private vaults has opened in the heart of London. Behind the façade of a historic mansion on Park Lane lies a high-tech security facility where wealthy clients store jewellery, luxury watches, designer handbags and other valuable possessions. Among the more unusual treasures are collections of Pokémon cards and even teddy bears.

The Times journalist Simon de Burton visited IBV International Vaults London to find out how the facility operates — and why, according to its management, gaining unauthorised access is virtually impossible.

A fortress behind a historic façade

The vault is housed in Stanhope House at 46 Park Lane, a historic mansion built in 1901. Its Gothic façade, adorned with stone gargoyles and decorative details, conceals a state-of-the-art security system.

Entry is permitted only after several layers of identity checks. Visitors are greeted by iris scanners and fingerprint readers. Even someone who looks exactly like the legitimate owner of a safe deposit box would be unable to pass the security checks, managing director Sean Howie insists.

Beyond the entrance are heavily reinforced rooms and massive security doors. One of them, manufactured by Chubb in 1945, weighs around 3.5 tonnes. It is backed by an additional security door made in Sweden.

The vault's walls, floor and ceiling are reinforced with steel plates approximately 25 centimetres thick. The premises are monitored around the clock by CCTV cameras and seismic sensors. Surveillance footage is simultaneously transmitted to several remote sites in the UK and South Africa.

The facility also operates a double-door security system: access to the vault is possible only after passing through several doors that lock sequentially. Security is provided by armed guards, including former members of elite British Army units.

How much does it cost to store a fortune?

IBV International Vaults London offers safe deposit boxes in a range of sizes. Annual rental prices start at £1,000 (approximately $1,300) for the smallest box, which is just five centimetres wide. The next size costs £1,250 a year, while the largest — measuring 40 centimetres across — is priced at £6,500 annually.

For clients with particularly deep pockets, there is also the option of renting an entire room. That privilege costs more than £1 million a year.

The rental fee includes insurance cover ranging from £100,000 to £1 million, depending on the size of the safe. Clients can purchase additional protection, with the maximum insured amount reaching £100 million.

Owners of the largest boxes enjoy another perk: complimentary transfers in a Rolls-Royce. Clients living within London's M25 orbital motorway can use the service up to six times a year for journeys between their homes and the vault.

What lies behind the armoured doors?

Among the most popular items kept in the vault are luxury watches, gold, jewellery, works of art and designer handbags from Chanel, Hermès, Dior and Louis Vuitton.

However, staff do not necessarily know what is inside each box. The company verifies the identity of every new client and prohibits the storage of illegal items, but does not require customers to disclose the contents of their safes.

Some clients choose to store possessions that are far removed from conventional luxury goods. One uses a large box for a collection of Pokémon cards, while another keeps teddy bears there.

Why banks stopped offering such services

The new vault was established in response to growing demand among wealthy clients who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure reliable storage for their valuables.

Following the notorious 2015 Hatton Garden burglary in London, when thieves broke into a bank vault and stole valuables worth around £14 million from safe deposit boxes, British banks began gradually withdrawing from the business.

IBV International Vaults founder Ashok Sewnarain, a South African entrepreneur and hotel magnate, saw an opportunity to create a premium service. Before opening its London branch, the company had already established seven vaults in South Africa and one in Dubai.

Today, behind the historic façade on one of the British capital's most prestigious streets, lies a highly secure vault complex — a place where billionaires can hide not only family heirlooms and handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars, but also the most unexpected pieces of their collections.

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