Winner on west London scheme due shortly
Laing O’Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine are neck and neck in the race for the prized deal to overhaul the grade II-listed Whiteleys shopping centre in west London.
The pair are due to find out shortly who has won the £250m deal to turn the 1980s shopping centre behind the historic 1911 Queensway façade in Bayswater into a residential and hotel mixed-use development under plans drawn up by Foster + Partners.
O’Rourke has brought its team over from Hammerson’s stalled Brent Cross shopping centre scheme to lead its bid and had been considered favourite for the job.
But Building understands the scheme’s decision-makers are split over who to appoint. “The design team likes the O’Rourke bid but the client is liking McAlpine,” one source said.
The redevelopment is being headed by a joint venture between a Meyer Bergman-advised fund and Warrior Group with development manager on the scheme, luxury property firm Finchatton.
The Whiteleys project will include 129 homes, along with 100,000 sq ft of shops, a cinema and a hotel.
Others working on the £1bn development include project manager Gardiner & Theobald, QS Alinea, civil and structural engineer AKT II and WSP as the traffic and waste engineer.
Bids from Mace and Multiplex fell earlier in the race.
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