Nama offloads Odeon Cinema in London's West End

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and Real Estate Resolutions have sold the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square to UK hotel chain Edwardian Group for an undisclosed price.

In a statement this week, Nama-appointed receivers Jon Gershinson and Simon Davidson of Allsop confirmed that contracts for the sale of the West End Odeon site have been exchanged but declined to comment on the price. Local press estimates the deal to be worth some £100 mln (EUR 119 mln).

'This has been a distinctive, high-profile sale as sites like this rarely come to the market,' commented Gershinson.

The site was granted planning permission in October 2008 for the demolition of existing buildings and the redevelopment into a two-screen cinema, a 245-bedroom hotel, 33 residential units, and five restaurants over a total of 215,000 sq ft (20,000 m2)

Agents for the sale were Knight Frank and CBRE. Nama appointed receivers to Steamboat Developments, the co-owner of the site, in March last year.

Radisson Edwardian is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned hotel groups.