Ardmore wins £100m London hotel deal

Ardmore will start work next week on a £100m hotel job near Trafalgar Square in central London after fighting-off competition from John Sisk for the job.

Laing O'Rourke was also in the race until Ardmore and Sisk were put on a short-list in March.

Ardmore was given the good news last week and will now mobilise its site workforce to start on the makeover of the Metropole Building on Northumberland Avenue.

The firm will now refurbish 37,000 m² of accommodation to transform it into the 283 bedroom, five-star Corinthia Hotel and adjoining luxury apartments and spa.

A source close to the job said: "This is a real feather in the cap for Ardmore because it is one of the most prestigious hotel jobs in the capital.

"We are talking prime location here and everything will be top quality. There was a lot of interest in the job and to win against names like Sisk and O'Rourke is a significant result."

The Metropole Building was sold by the Crown Estate last year to a joint venture between Malta's International Hotel Investments, the Libyan Foreign Investment Company and Istithmar Hotels FZE of Dubai in a deal worth £135m.

The new hotel will be managed by CHI Hotels & Resorts and is set to open in 2010.

Corinthia Hotels founder Alfred Pisani said: "We believe that this redevelopment project - at this time - and in what will be one of London's iconic hotels - will reap tangible immediate and long-term rewards not only by virtue of the investment itself, but also in widening the appeal of our Corinthia Hotels brand into this world capital.

"The London project will also provide us with an excellent platform to continue to pursue our aggressive expansion strategy, with further acquisitions and developments currently being considered."