Client: Marriott International
Marriott International operates a long leasehold 100-bedroom hotel in central Birmingham that is located next to a 1960’s, 30-storey tower block. To make way for a new development planned by the freeholders of the hotel, the tower block was to be destroyed by dynamite in a controlled explosion.
Faced with a number of potential risks, Marriott appointed us to protect its interests – in particular the physical integrity of the hotel and suitable compensation payments for the disruption.
Our approach
Health and safety considerations required an exclusion zone to be created around the site, which meant that part of the hotel had to be vacated. When our corporate property management team scrutinised the terms of Marriott’s lease, however, it was clear that our client was under no obligation to fully comply with the freeholders’ request, which would result in disturbance to the business on the day the tower block was to demolished. We therefore entered into negotiations with the freeholder to secure adequate recompense to reflect the hotels losses and time spent on protecting the hotels structure and continuity of trade.
Meanwhile, our building consultancy team created a schedule of conditions for the hotel, to ascertain whether the property had been affected by the explosion. We also created a specification for protecting the building, especially vulnerable parts such as air conditioning plant and glass windows, and ensured areas were cleaned following the blast.
Result
We secured a capital payment of £15,000 plus fees for Marriott International, ensured that operational disruption was kept to a minimum and that the physical risks to the building was minimised.
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