A consortium led by Malta-based hotel developer International Hotel Investments (IHI) is buying the Metropole building and 10 Whitehall Place from UK Crown Estate for £130 mln (EUR 174 mln). IHI, which is owned by Dubai state-controlled investment firm Istithmar, will refurbish the 37,161 m[sup]2[/sup] of accommodation to provide a 5-star, 283-bed hotel and luxury residential apartments in the West End overlooking the Thames.
A consortium led by Malta-based hotel developer International Hotel Investments (IHI) is buying the Metropole building and 10 Whitehall Place from UK Crown Estate for £130 mln (EUR 174 mln). IHI, which is owned by Dubai state-controlled investment firm Istithmar, will refurbish the 37,161 m2 of accommodation to provide a 5-star, 283-bed hotel and luxury residential apartments in the West End overlooking the Thames.
In a statement, Crown Estate said it received a number of very strong bids for the building, and decided to select IHI as its project was 'most sympathetic to the building's architectural features, townscape setting and history of the site.'
'IHI's bid stood out from a strong field of competitors with a proposal to refurbish the building rather than rebuild behind the existing façade', said Charles Gardner, head of Office Portfolio at The Crown Estate. IHI was said to be vying with Stanhope and Ballymore for the asset.
The Metropole was developed in 1883 by Gordon's Hotel Company and eventually opened in 1885. In 1936 the asset was leased to the government for the Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence through 2004. It has remained closed and unoccupied since then.
CB Richard Ellis acted on behalf of The Crown Estate.
