£1m writ after bank 'took chandeliers'

BANKING group HSBC is being sued for £1m after it allegedly removed four chandeliers that it did not own from a bank branch it had rented.

The chandeliers, valued at £180,000, later turned up at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

The bank quit the building in Piccadilly, central London, earlier this year and took with it the fixtures and fittings, according to a writ filed by Westminster City Council and its Lord Mayor, Frances Blois. It is also accused of leaving the branch in a 'dilapidated' state.

'It failed to repair the building,' says the writ. 'It failed to clean the building. It failed to decorate the building. It failed to reinstate the building to the state it had been made before being altered.'

The council also claims that at some point during the tenancy, HSBC removed and 'disposed' of the chandeliers without the council's knowledge or consent.

The V&A said it bought the chandeliers about ten years ago from a 'specialist dealer', understood to be in nearby Soho, but could not say how much it had paid.

'The chandeliers are part of the decorative scheme of the museum,' said a spokesman for the V&A. 'They were not bought to go on display as gallery objects.'

Two of the chandeliers can be seen by the public, but the other two have been hung in internal offices, the museum said.

Westminster council is believed to want the chandeliers back. It claims to have lost more than £1 million as a result of HSBC's actions and the cost of restoring the building. It is also seeking interest at £220.34 per day.

The council said it had a team of surveyors, architects and lawyers pursuing its claim and acknowledged a 'dispute' over the chandeliers. It did not want to comment further. HSBC said it would defend the action.