Sold 99c Talbot Road, Notting Hill to The Ruddock Foundation

Frost Meadowcroft has sold 99c Talbot Road a little piece of Notting Hill rich in history. This unique office building in Talbot Road, which has had a long-standing connection with artists from the music world, has just been sold to The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts.

Originally an old brewery associated with the adjacent pub, now The Ledbury restaurant, the building was bought by Trevor Horn’s record label ZTT in the 1980s. ZTT had just signed Frankie Goes to Hollywood who took their first 3 singles to No.1 in the charts with hits Relax, Two Tribes and The Power of Love. Sadly, this relationship ended acrimoniously after Holly Johnson sued the label over a restrictive contract, the High Court ruled in Holly Johnson’s favour saying that the original ZTT contract was so restrictive declaring it an “unreasonable restraint of trade”.

Shortly after, ZTT had to sell the building and an architectural client of Frost Meadowcroft acquired it in 1988 for their own occupation. Simon Kibble, co-founder of Frost Meadowcroft recalls, “This part of London was the epicentre of the record industry in the 80s and 90s – all the major labels such as Warner, EMI, Sony & Universal were based in the area but there were also dozens of smaller independents scattered around in Kensington and Hammersmith. In fact our own office in Island Studios, St Peters Square is in the former Island Records building that we acquired for Lifshutz Davidson Sandilands architects ”. Later in the 1990s Frost Meadowcroft secured V2 Records as a tenant at Talbot Road – this was the label founded in 1996 by Richard Branson shortly after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.  Subsequent occupiers signed by Frost Meadowcroft included Pepe Jeans and most recently the tech company, Iovox.

This sale brings an end to an interesting 20-year relationship with this building for Frost Meadowcroft and its owner.

by Simon Kibble November 2023