Judge rules in tricky case of £200m Canary Wharf hotel development

A High Court judge has handed down a ruling intended to save the development prospects of a £200m Canary Wharf hotel project. The dispute is between landowner Quay House Admirals Way and Rockwell Properties. The pair had partnered to develop a major waterfront hotel, leisure and apartment complex on the Canary Wharf waterfront, E14. They were given planning permission in 2020 for the project, comprising a 400-bedroom hotel and 279 serviced apartments. Premier Inn had signed an agreement to run the hotel. The project, according to a judgment handed down last week, had a development value in excess of £200m. According to the judgment, by June 2021 the landowner and developer had fallen out. The landowner began to look for alternative developers and funders. However, the development plan signed between the landowner and Rockwell had added a restriction to the property’s title which could, in some circumstances, allow Rockwell to block the project from continuing. This has been making it difficult for the landowners to find financial backers. At a hearing last month, lawyers for the landowner asked for the restrictions to be removed. And, in a long and carefully-reasoned judgment, Judge Simon Gleeson, in the High Court, agreed. He said that he was “satisfied that the restriction was created in order to protect the interests” of the developer. He also said that, under the agreement, the developer was obliged to “withdraw the restriction where that is necessary for the project to successfully proceed.” He said he was also satisfied that this was the case. The judge also said he was “in no doubt that there is a serous issue to be tried between the parties”. Whatever the outcome of the dispute, he said that a payment of damages would be “the appropriate remedy”. He ordered the landowner to pay £1.5m to the court, to be held in escrow pending a trial. He said the sum was the likely maximum damages due to Rockwell if it won the case. To send feedback, e-mail newsdesk@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews Quay House Admirals Way Land Ltd and another v Rockwell Properties Ltd Business and Property Courts (Mr Simon Gleeson Sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) 11 March 2022