Marconi House, the Silken hotel and residential scheme under construction at the junction of the Strand and the Aldwych in central London, has gone into fixed charge receivership.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed by Spanish bank BBVA as joint fixed charge receivers over the Foster & Partners-designed scheme at 336-337 Strand, WC2.
Spanish owner and developer Grupo Urvasco was behind the project which comprises a 170-bedroom hotel and 90 flats, being built on the site of the former Marconi Building and later Citibank House.
In March the bank brought in PwC to assess the project’s viability following a series of disputes over the site.
Construction has been at a standstill for several months.
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ specialist real estate and construction partner, Barry Gilbertson outlined the receivers’ strategy: “As work on the construction of the site stopped in late 2008, our first task is to take stock of the part-built construction, to understand the quality and condition of the structure, which may have deteriorated after being exposed to the weather through last winter.
“Following this, we will carry out significant due diligence to put together a detailed information memorandum for sale.
“It was incorrectly rumoured earlier this year, that the developers had gone into administration, and we were inundated with enquiries from potential purchasers.
“If the green shoots of recovery really are pushing up through the streets of tourist London, then we expect that there will be very strong demand to take over this development to build out the hotel, with its stunning marble pyramidal atrium, and the apartments which are in a fantastic location right in the heart of London’s theatreland midway between the West End and the City.”
