Part-built Foster hotel on Strand goes into receivership

A half-completed hotel on the Strand designed by Foster + Partners has finally gone into receivership after more than six months of inactivity.

The building, at 336-337 Strand, was being developed by Spanish developer Urvasco. Construction was mothballed late last year, since when it has remained in an incomplete state. The site formerly housed Citibank House.

Building revealed in September last year how subcontractors were stood down on the £25m project while Urvasco sought more funds to complete the central London development.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has now been appointed receiver to the 11-storey building, which was to house a five-star hotel and 79 luxury apartments. Urvasco had been 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.”