US real estate tycoon Stan Thomas is heading to court for a second time in an attempt to to prevent City Inn from opening a rival hotel next door to his building, Ten Trinity Square, in London EC3.
In 2006, Thomas paid £110m for the property with plans to turn it into a six-star hotel. The billionaire is seeking an injunction to stop City Inn from replacing the neighbouring Mariner House with a four-star, 602-bedroom hotel.
He claims that the 11-storey building will “materially diminish the light” to the windows of his Grade II-listed property on Pepys Street, and is seeking unspecified damages.
City Inn obtained consent to demolish Mariner House and replace it with the hotel in October 2006.
However, last year, Thomas took the hotelier to court, claiming that it required the consent of his company, Thomas Enterprises, to proceed ahead with the project. The motion was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in March.
English Heritage last week attacked Thomas’s plans for
