Ziser London is to acquire Fulham Town Hall in west London with plans to transform the historic building into a hotel, restaurants, event space and spa.
The developer has secured a £10m loan to acquire the Grade II*-listed, 51,350 sq ft building from a private vendor. It was previously owned by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which sold it in a deal reportedly worth more than £10m.
A previous planning application to transform the building into residential units and other amenities was refused, with the planning inspectorate saying on appeal that development into a hotel would be preferable.
The hall has a Portland stone façade, stained glass windows and grand halls.
The acquisition was facilitated by a loan from OakNorth arranged by BBS Capital.
Anthony Kazan, residential development partner at Knight Frank - who advised the vendor, commented: "The sale of Fulham Town Hall attracted strong interest from a select group of developers and private investors who were struck by the rarity of the opportunity; its elegant architecture and grand internal volumes offer the potential to create a mixed-use development without precedent in central London."
Priya Harley, debt finance director at OakNorth, said: "Ziser London has an extensive track record in investing and developing London based residential and commercial properties, in particular ones with architectural significance or a unique heritage. Once completed, this site will be a landmark property in London, so we're delighted to be assisting the team and look forward to working with them on additional projects in the future."
Belchak Corin & Co is seeking occupiers for the developed site including retail, leisure, office and hotel operators.
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