Financial viability advice on a major W1 scheme

Cluttons was appointed by Westminster City Council (WCC) to assess the financial viability of a planning application for the demolition and redevelopment of a 100,000 sq ft building to provide a new 44-bedroom hotel and up to 88 residential units in Hanover Square, one of London’s most important squares.

Acting on behalf of WCC in the negotiations with the developer and their consultants, we used our in-depth findings to negotiate the financial viability of the proposed scheme.

We reviewed the developer’s financial viability appraisal, assessing their GDV, costs, profit, and land value, and compared our findings with the benchmark land value. We concluded that there was a substantial difference in the existing building value vs the residual land value of the proposed scheme. We recommended that the developer make a significant affordable housing and public realm contribution to WCC.