A Muslim billionaire has won permission to turn a major London landmark into a mosque.
Mega-rich Asif Aziz, 56, known as Mr West End, will take over the Trocadero in the centre of the capital, The Sun reports.
He had applied to build a 1000-person capacity mosque but plans were withdrawn because of backlash from residents.
But now Westminster Council has approved a three-storey mosque for 390 worshippers, The Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
It’s thought it will be called “Piccadilly Prayer Space” and could be open within months.
“A planning application by the Aziz Foundation to convert a part of the London Trocadero was approved by the council’s planning committee in May 2023,” a council spokesperson said.
The Trocadero, situated between Picadilly Circus and Soho, first opened in 1896 as a restaurant — but it closed in 1965.
It reopened in 1984 as an exhibition and entertainment space — with the building sponsored by Sega.
It was downscaled in 2011 before part of the building reopened as a hotel in 2020.
Mr Aziz bought the Trocadero itself for more than £220 million ($363 million) in 2005.
It’s believed he is founding the mosque through his charitable arm, the Aziz Foundation.
They say the mosque will serve Muslims who work in the area, as well as those visiting London as tourists.
Mr Aziz is chief executive and founder of property group Criterion Caption, which owns large portions of London’s West End.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
