Karma Sanctum hotel recovers £20k stolen gorilla statue ‘Ace’

‘Ace’, a life-size gorilla statue worth £20,000, has been recovered by the Karma Sanctum hotel in Soho after it was stolen earlier this month.

The hotel group will be hosting a celebration party on 4 December from 6.30pm onwards, to “toast Ace’s safe return following [its] widespread media appeal”.

The 160kg fiberglass gorilla was originally stolen by “thieves in high-vis”, and the owners of the property launched an appeal and reward afterwards for the statue’s safe return.

According to reports the thieves tricked builders working next to the property into helping them take the gorilla down from the roof through their building site.

At the time a statement posted on the group’s Twitter page read: “Help us to find our beloved Ace, who has been stolen! A part of our family for many years, Ace was taken from our rooftop on Monday morning and carried along the London rooftops. Any information would be appreciated.”