It’s the mansion block that’s been central to the London social scene thanks to its nightclub Barts, a speakeasy favoured by Royal pals of its Old Etonian owner Charlie Gilkes. But Chelsea Cloisters has also been so rife with prostitution over recent years that it infamously earned the nickname ‘Ten Floors of Whores’.
Now I learn the building’s multi-millionaire owner Christopher Moran has quietly recruited Sir Hugh Orde, one of Britain’s most respected former police chiefs, to shake off the unwelcome reputation.
It’s a bold move from the well-known Tory Party donor. By bringing out of retirement a former head of both the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Association of Chief Police Officers, it seems like he’s admitting he needed to pull in big guns to cleanse the reputation of the block, which was first exposed for having links to vice in 2018.
It’s the mansion block that’s been central to the London social scene thanks to its nightclub Barts, a speakeasy favoured by Royal pals of its Old Etonian owner Charlie Gilkes. But Chelsea Cloisters has also been so rife with prostitution over recent years that it infamously earned the nickname ‘Ten Floors of Whores’
Christopher Moran has quietly recruited Sir Hugh Orde, one of Britain’s most respected former police chiefs, to shake off the unwelcome reputation
A source close to the situation has said that while some sex workers have been found to be operating at the 670-apartment building, they cannot simply be removed straight away as they need to be ‘safeguarded’ from working the streets.
The source says: ‘Sir Hugh was brought in to clean up the Cloisters, and was able to identify a number of sex workers who were subsequently removed. Additional security measures were put into place including improved CCTV coverage. The building is now managed more securely and closely.
‘Any sex workers who are identified are removed, but only once safeguarding measures are in place.’
In the 2018 investigation which exposed Chelsea Cloisters, reporters made 40 bookings with prostitutes using 23 apartments – 15 of them rented from Reelread, the company Sir Hugh now works for.
Sir Hugh Orde (pictured) was hired to remove the reputation of the apartment building
An additional 18 arrests were made at nine more apartments during a 2019 follow-up. In the same week, two of the leading figures in the sex industry in that area were arrested.
Moran, who has donated almost £300,000 to the Tories, has always said he takes a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards prostitution.
Also on the Reelread board are Moran’s 33-year-old twin sons, Charles – who is said to be dating former Made In Chelsea star Kimberley Garner – and Jamie.
Moran, 73, is estimated to be worth £400 million and has been described as ‘very persuasive’ by his ex-wife, Helen, a former Miss Thames TV. She was not persuasive to keep him from leaving her, in 1998. This happened shortly after she met Andrew Maple, a flower seller.
Moran has described himself as ‘astronomically wealthy’. Moran lives in Crosby Hall in a 15-century palace along the Thames. He renamed Crosby Moran Hall and chauffeurs his Rolls-Royce.