It was designed by Edward Skinner and constructed by Clifford Lake and Company.

[7][8] In 1933, the joint owners of the building, Ian Woodford Aitken, Henry Seymour Jeaffreson, Basil Walter Cuthbert Leefe and Walter Edward Moncrieff Paterson, sold the building to Ceylon and General Properties Ltd.[1][2] In 1950 ownership of the building was transferred to Badrawathie Fernando Estate Ltd and subsequently in 1957 to United Ceylon Insurance Company Ltd.[1][2] In 2009 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka purchased the building, to address the needs of the bank's growing office.

[1] The renovated building was officially opened on 1 June 2011 by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, and Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor of the Central Bank.

This building signifies British architectural heritage of the late 19th century.

The richly decorated conference room, elegant marble corridors, classical motifs, quaint woodwork and attractive exterior design of the building symbolize commercial heyday of early 20th century in Sri Lanka.