Docklands tower project put into administration

Angel House Developments Limited, owners of the 225 Marsh Wall site in London’s Docklands, has appointed administrators James Money and James Stewart-Koster of PKF, representatives have confirmed.

A planning application for the 47-storey development was submitted late last year, and included the provision for 420,000 sq ft of multi-use space in the capital’s financial hub on the Isle of Dogs.

Owned by multi-millionaire investor and former real estate magnate Julia Dave Cartery as part of the Angel Group, the plot was purchased for £11m with support from Dunbar Assets PLC, according to the Land Registry.

The developers had hoped that a multi-use platform would form a more attractive proposal to Tower Hamlets council, with a primary focus on residential property which is at a premium in the immediate vicinity.

The latest proposals – submitted in October 2012 – saw the space divided into residential usage of 268,527 sq ft, with a 72,000 sq ft hotel, 20,000 sq ft of prime office space and 6,000 sq ft of retail.

With land on the Isle of Dogs at such a premium, developers have long been aware of the issues surrounding both the stringency and inter-dependency of planning applications.

A previous set of plans were submitted for the address in 2009, but were withdrawn following a conflicting application for a development named ‘Skylines’ on a nearby site.

This left Angel Group with a third party to negotiate with whilst considering their application, with the needs of Tower Hamlets council and the GLA balanced against the deferred ‘Skylines’ plans.

The Angel Group drafted in property and construction consultants McBains Cooper to help make their plans tenable to all parties, however spiralling consultation and legal costs look to be the main factor in de-railing the project.

The site is currently known as the ‘Innovation Centre’, and is headquarters to a number of businesses in a five-storey block constructed in 1989.

Representatives of The Angel Group were not available for comment.