Receivers called in for half-finished Foster-designed hotel

The half-completed £25m hotel on the Strand designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank has gone into receivership after more than six months of inactivity.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has now been appointed receiver on controversial 11-storey development on the Strand, central London, which was to house a five-star hotel and 79 luxury apartments.

The building, which was formerly Citibank house, was being developed by Spanish developer Urvasco but construction halted late last year, and the building has since remained in an incomplete state.

Urvasco had tried to find funds to complete the central London development designed by Foster & Partners, and was rumoured to have entered administration, but PwC denied that this was the case.

Barry Gilbertson, a specialist real estate and construction partner at PwC, said: "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."

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By Gemma Sharkey

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