Football tycoon buys former bank

The Lithuanian tycoon reportedly paid £20m for the property

Hearts football club owner Vladimir Romanov has bought one of Edinburgh's highest profile commercial properties.

The Lithuanian billionaire has reportedly paid about £20m for the former Royal Bank of Scotland building.

The historic property, which sits in St Andrew Square in the Scottish capital, had served as the bank's headquarters from 1825 to 2006.

Refurbishing work is now expected to begin on the two main buildings of the former bank.

The multi-million pound deal involves the purchase of the 45,749 sq ft building at 42 St Andrew Square and the associated properties at 38-52 West Register Street, which extend to 40,749 sq ft.

Custodian

A spokesman for Mr Romanov said he was proud to be the new custodian of such historic premises.

He said: "Each of the properties requires significant refurbishment and Mr Romanov is looking forward to achieving this in a proper and careful manner, bearing in mind the listed nature of the buildings."

The buildings were placed on the market earlier this year and the deal represents Mr Romanov's second major investment in Scotland.

Mr Romanov has yet to announce his plans for the property.

In September last year he announced his intention to bring his own bank, the Ukio Bankas, to the city.

Headquarters

As the fifth largest and oldest private bank in Lithuania, the bank reported net profits of £2.7m in the first nine months of 2005.

Ukio Bankas has recently taken over offices in the city's Castle Street and is due to open its first UK branch there in July.

The Royal Bank of Scotland moved its headquarters from St Andrew Square to a multi-million pound building on the site of the old Gogarburn Hospital on the western outskirts of Edinburgh in 2006.