Bids for the former British High Commission property, a sprawling waterfront site of 434 perches at Kollupitiya, concluded on Monday.

Navinda Samarawickreme from Schokman & Samarawickreme, the exclusive marketing agent selected to sell the property by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FC) of Britain, described the campaign as 'very successful' and added that the bids are now being forwarded to the relevant authorities in London.
Mr Samarawickreme declined to comment on the specifics of the bids, saying they were confidential matters but did say they received approximately 12 expressions of interest, some coming from overseas parties. The property is located in a high security zone opposite Temple Trees, the residence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and also adjoins the American Embassy.

The property was valued by Savills Australia, a global real estate service provider, to be worth around Rs. 1 billion but local real estate agents have said the land could be worth more than double that.