International Hotel Investments yesterday announced it had fended off competition from 26 of the world’s leading developers for the purchase, redevelopment and operations of the historic Metropole Hotel building and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place property in central London.
The properties were effectively purchased from the British monarchy through Crown Estates, which manages the monarchy's properties on behalf of the UK government, for a price of GBP130 million (€174 million).
The IHI consortium is comprised of IHI itself and its principal shareholders Istithmar Hotels FZE and Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LFICO). Once the redevelopment of the sites is completed, the management of the five-star hotel operation is to be handed over to Corinthia Hotels International and will be operated under the Corinthia brand.
Malta-based IHI beat competition from renowned developers Stanhope and Ballymore, which had both proposed hotel and residential designs similar to those submitted by IHI, as well as Exemplar Properties which had proposed an office, hotel and residential scheme.
It is understood that bids for the site had reached £170 million (€227.65 million), but IHI is said to have been chosen on the strength of its vision for restoring the landmark luxury hotel to its original use and for the design’s consideration of the building’s architectural features, townscape setting and history.
IHI’s bid is to see the properties, comprising 400,000 square feet (37,161 square metres) of accommodation, being refurbished into a 283-bedroom five-star hotel and a suite of luxury residential apartments.
The Metropole occupies a triangular island site on Northumberland Avenue in the heart of London’s West End, in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square, and was used as a Ministry of Defence headquarters between 1936 and 2004, when it was vacated.
In a statement issued by IHI yesterday, the company said it had been looking to expand its operations to London for some time, and that the Metropole site was perfectly suited to its needs.
IHI chairman Alfred Pisani commented at the purchase agreement’s signing, “IHI and our partners are very much looking forward to establishing a presence here in London as investors, developers and operators of the Corinthia Hotels brand.
“We are excited about our plans for the refurbishment of the Metropole building as a five-star luxury hotel, but above all else we are eager to become part of London’s vibrant hotel community and to working closely with the Crown Estate.”
Crown Estates’ Charles Gardner added, “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. We were impressed by IHI’s track record and are confident that they will restore the once grand Metropole Hotel to its former glory.”
The Crown Estate manages assets worth more than GBP7 billion, including all of Regent Street and the entire seabed under UK territorial waters and all its surplus revenues are paid directly to the UK Treasury.
The Metropole is being sold as part of the Crown Estates’ drive to reinvest in its core area of Regent Street. Almost all of the property in London's Regent Street and Regent's Park belongs to The Crown Estate
The hotel has a rich history, having been first opened in 1885 and playing host to numerous royal clienteles, banquets and balls over the years. The building had been requisitioned for government staff at the outbreak of World War I and reverted to hotel use after the war. It was leased by the government for the Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence in 1936, after which it continued to be used for MOD offices until it was vacated in 2004, after which it has remained closed and unoccupied