It doesn't matter if you are a fan of modern architecture or not, or whether you complain that your view of St Pauls (a building you never look at anyway) is obscured by glass and steel, the fact is the 'Boomerang' building, aka One Blackfriars with great views of the Thames in Southwark, London, is absolutely beautiful. To offer you some context, a four bedroom apartment on the 22nd floor of the building is listed for sale at the moment, a snip at £9.5 million. However, it should be noted that occupants do get access to 5* onsite amenities, including a state-of-the-art gym, a cinema room and something called an 'Executive Lounge', for those who want to leave their own lounge in their apartment and sit in another one two stories up.
Way back in 2008, after what is affectionately known as 'the financial crisis' (that 'once in a generation' assault on the global community) plans for the site in Southwark hit the skids and CVR Global was appointed as Liquidator. Later BDO was appointed as Administrator to the project and they sold the land in 2011 to Berkeley for £77.4 million and Royal Bank of Scotland, Allied Irish Bank and Santander UK, as the secured creditors of the planned development, were repaid.
The NTI newsroom reported last year that CVR Global accused BDO of selling the site too cheaply and of failing to comply with their duties, including obtaining an independent valuation. It was reported by the press as being a '£250 million law suit' (which means it was probably about £50 million, but that sells fewer papers). Yesterday (Tuesday 23 March) in the high court, John Kimbell, QC, found that BDO had “fully complied with their statutory and other duties” during the administration” and had “due regard to the interests of all the creditors”. Of course they had, but it looked a little dodgy for a while.
The legal fees that CVR Global might now have to pay would probably nab them a studio flat in the Boomerang, overlooking the car-park, but they would get access to the gym.
