The London antiques shop from ‘Paddington’ is for sale

Everyone loves Paddington. The well-spoken Peruvian bear has pawed his way into the collective consciousness of Londoners over the past few years, mainly thanks to his charming film franchise which somehow became a cult classic. He has even guest-edited an edition of Time Out. 

Now, a slice of real estate from the Paddington films has hit the market. It’s a chance to buy a property that’s a real part of London. The setting for Gruber’s Antiques – really a shop named Alice’s Antiques – on Portobello Road has gone up for sale. 

In Michael Bond’s book series Mr Gruber acts as Paddington’s best friend and confidante, with the pair regularly scoffing elevenses and heading off an adventures together. His film character is played by Jim Broadbent. 

The real life Gruber, Douglas Carter, is selling his Notting Hill antiques shop which has been owned by the Carter family since 1952. It’s a rare sale, as Alice’s is one of only three antiques shops left on Portobello, which used to be packed full of stores selling second-hand bric-a-brac. The shop also starred in the original 1969 Italian Job. 

Carter told the Times that the shop on the corner of Denbigh Close is often visited by tourists on Paddington tours of London. ‘Four times every Saturday, we get a proper Paddington Bear tour where the guide’s got a Paddington mascot with him,’ he said. 

Up for sale is the ground-floor shop and the first and second-floor maisonette. It’s going for a mega £4.5 million, and deep pocketed buyers can take a look at the property listing, managed by Knight Frank, online here. 

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