A historic building used by UBS’s wealth management arm in Singapore – once the headquarters for UK military commanders and political leaders – has been designated as a national monument.

The building is called the Command House, now home to UBS Wealth Management Campus. Its classification as a monument was made by Lui Tuck Yew, acting minister for information, communication and the arts.

The building is, according to a UBS website, “set on half a million square feet of landscaped grounds, with its classrooms in an unusual black, white and brown colonial building”.

During WW2, The Command House was the headquarters for military leaders and statesmen, including Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was the last Viceroy and first Governor General of India at the time of independence, and Lieutenant-General A E Percival, who commanded the British forces during the Battle of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. More recently, it was the official residence of former President Ong Teng Cheong, the first directly-elected President of Singapore.