Inside the World’s Most Secure Vault: A Fortress for the Super-Wealthy
Bulletproof glass, reinforced steel doors, biometric fingerprints, and iris scans—this is not the stuff of spy novels; it’s the state-of-the-art technology employed at IBV International Vaults London. Nestled in the heart of Mayfair, right next to the iconic Dorchester Hotel, this facility is designed to safeguard the most valuable possessions of the world’s richest individuals.
Described as “the world’s most exclusive private vault,” IBV offers levels of security so high that managing director Sean Hoey quipped to the Daily Mail, “It’s like Fort Knox without the Marines.”
Located in a Grade II-listed building on Park Lane, IBV is the brainchild of South African multimillionaire Ashok Sewnarain, who acquired the property in 2017, as reported by the Telegraph. The transformation from its former life as a Barclays bank to an impenetrable fortress was nothing short of dramatic.
“We had to demolish the entire building,” Hoey revealed. “The walls were completely unsafe, and we didn’t want a repeat of the Hatton robbery.”
The notorious 2015 Hatton Garden robbery involved four thieves who broke in over the Easter Bank Holiday, using a lift shaft to access the vault and drilling through its 50cm-thick walls. They made away with £14 million worth of precious stones and gold bars, with £9.5 million still unaccounted for.
To prevent a similar incident, Hoey and his team installed steel-reinforced walls, floors, and ceilings designed to withstand days of drilling, effectively encasing the treasures within. “If someone attempted something like Hatton Garden here, they would drill through the brick only to hit steel,” he emphasized.
In an effort to eliminate potential vulnerabilities, the air ventilation system was also removed.
Upon entering IBV, the high level of security is immediately evident. Visitors are greeted in a reception area adorned with the building’s original hand-carved woodwork. To access the vault, customers must complete a series of biometric checks, including iris and fingerprint scans—a feature unique to IBV in London.
After passing through reinforced doors, they enter a spacious chamber where a massive vault door—originally from the 1940s—commands attention. Weighing three tons, it was deemed too heavy to remove and has instead been preserved as an additional security layer.
Next, customers enter the ‘man-trap area,’ a secure space between two steel gates reinforced with concrete, monitored by a control room shielded by bulletproof glass capable of withstanding fire from an AK-47.
“This is our UK control room,” Hoey explained. “We also have three other global control rooms monitoring us 24/7—one in Dubai and two in Africa.”
With four sets of eyes observing procedures, they do not rely on a single individual to ensure security. Each customer receives a personal access card, and their details are meticulously recorded for safety.
Only authorized individuals can enter their specific vault, and panic buttons are strategically placed throughout the facility to alert the control room in emergencies.
Finally, visitors reach the inner sanctum—home to 561 secure vaults, ranging from boxes the size of a telephone to entire rooms available for rent at £2.5 million per year. The smallest vaults start at £1,000 annually, serving as precious safekeeping for jewelry, watches, gold bars, and wills.
However, it’s not just traditional valuables that find a home here. An increasing number of clients use the vault to store their rare Pokémon card collections or books containing cryptocurrency passwords, each book safeguarded in two separate deposit boxes.
